Seven top group stage games to watch at the World Cup

Sunday, 11 a.m. (FS1, Telemundo, Peacock)

Why not start with the tournament’s opening game? While the other teams in this group — Senegal and the Netherlands — will get the most headlines, this game is plenty compelling. The host nation is playing in a World Cup for the first time, and we don’t know how good it really is.

The best evidence may have come, oddly enough, from being an invited guest in last year’s Concacaf Gold Cup and reaching the semifinals. Top goal scorer Almoez Ali made a name for himself, as did fellow forward Hassan Al-Haydos and midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem. They all play in Qatar’s domestic league, as does the entire team.

Ecuador’s squad is led by Moisés Caicedo and defender Pervis Estupiñán of England’s Brighton. There are also many past and present MLS players, including Xavier Arreaga (Seattle), José Cifuentes (LAFC), Diego Palacios (LAFC), and Carlos Gruezo (ex-FC Dallas, now at Germany’s Augsburg).

» READ MORE: Fox’s World Cup coverage won’t address Qatar controversies, but Telemundo does it on opening day

Nov. 30, 2 p.m. (Fox29, Universo, Peacock)

This will be a clash of two of the tournament’s most famous scorers, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. They’ve dueled before at the club level, when Lewandowski played for Bayern Munich and Messi played for Barcelona.

Now Lewandowski is at Barcelona and Messi is at Paris Saint-Germain, and Barcelona’s collapse in this season’s Champions League group stage means they won’t meet in the knockout rounds. So a meeting on an even bigger stage will have to suffice: a World Cup group stage finale.

The stakes will likely be bigger for Poland, which hasn’t reached the World Cup knockout rounds since 1986. As great as Lewandowski is, he doesn’t have nearly as much talent around him on the national team as he has long had with his clubs. Argentina, meanwhile, is as stacked a team as there is in this World Cup.

» READ MORE: Lionel Messi's Argentina beat Andre Blake's Jamaica in a World Cup warmup game

Nov. 30, 10 a.m. (Fox29, Universo, Peacock)

On paper, France might have the most talent of any team in the field: Kylian Mbappé up front, dazzling youngsters Eduardo Camavinga and Aurélien Tchouaméni in midfield, and Jules Koundé and Raphaël Varane on the back line.

But the reigning World Cup champions also are a world leader in locker-room friction, and this team has plenty of it. Will manager Didier Deschamps be able to keep a lid on everything, or will it boil over onto the field?

Even worse, France has a staggeringly long injury list. On Saturday, star striker Karim Benzema joined N’Golo Kanté, Paul Pogba, Presnel Kimpembe, and Christopher Nkunku on the sidelines when he tore a thigh muscle in practice.

The last time Les Bleus arrived at a World Cup as defending champs, they crashed spectacularly in the group stage — and an upset loss to one of France’s former African colonies was part of why. Back then, it was Senegal. This time it could be Tunisia. Six players on the squad play their club soccer in France, led by forward Wahbi Khazri.

» READ MORE: Ten star players to watch at the 2022 World Cup

Nov. 27, 2 p.m. (FS1, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Any time two European powers meet at a World Cup, it’s not just Europe that comes to a halt. These teams are loaded with young phenoms from some of the world’s biggest clubs, and they’ll be looking to put on a show.

Spain’s squad has Barcelona’s Gavi, Pedri, Ansu Fati, and Ferran Torres, all age 22 or younger. Across the field, Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko and Karim Adeyemi are ready to break into stardom.

Moukoko and Adeyemi have some expert American witnesses who can vouch for their talent. Moukoko plays with Gio Reyna at Dortmund, and Adeyemi used to play with Brenden Aaronson at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. On top of that, Salzburg signed Adeyemi on a tip from Union sporting director Ernst Tanner, who worked there at the time.

» READ MORE: Union sporting director Ernst Tanner brought Karim Adeyemi to Salzburg in 2018

Nov. 27, 11 a.m. (FS1, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Croatia reached the final in 2018 and hopes to run it back with many of the same stars. But key centerback Dejan Lovren (Zenit St. Petersburg) and winger Ivan Perišić (Tottenham Hotspur) are 33, while all-world central midfielder Luka Modrić (Real Madrid) is 37. Have they got one more big run in them, or will time run out this month?

Canada, meanwhile, has a team full of young talent. The Canucks are in their first men’s World Cup since 1986, and most of their best players are age 23 and younger: star left back Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), big-time striker Jonathan David (Lille), winger Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), and rising midfielder Ismaël Koné (CF Montréal).

While Belgium is likely to win Group F, this game could determine who finishes second. If Canada pulls it off, it will be a huge boost for the sport in the country ahead of co-hosting 2026 with the U.S. and Mexico.

» READ MORE: The complete World Cup TV, radio and live streaming schedule

Dec. 2, 2 p.m. (FS1, Universo, Peacock)

Brazil isn’t just the big team in this group, it’s one of the big favorites to win the whole tournament. And you’re already going to watch all of Brazil’s games anyway, because it’s Brazil. So let’s focus elsewhere.

Serbia has three big-time forwards in Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrović, Fiorentina’s Luka Jović and (especially) Juventus’ Dušan Vlahović, and two great attacking midfielders in Lazio’s Sergej Milinković-Savić and Ajax’s Dušan Tadić. They’ll run into a Swiss midfield led by Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka, and a back line led by Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji.

Switzerland’s attack has a huge young prospect in Red Bull Salzburg’s 22-year-old Noah Okafor, and a veteran leader in 31-year-old Chicago Fire winger Xherdan Shaqiri.

Nov. 28, 2 p.m. (Fox29, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

This game is up there with Spain-Germany and Poland-Argentina at the top of the marquee. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) vs. Uruguay’s Luis Suárez (Nacional) and Edinson Cavani is as big a striker duel as there is.

But their teammates are no slouches. In particular, watch the midfield matchup between Portugal’s Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) and Uruguay’s Federico Valverde (Real Madrid. They’re key players for two of the world’s biggest clubs, but they don’t always get the attention they deserve.

There’s one more story line here: This is a rematch of a classic game from the 2018 World Cup. Uruguay won, 2-1, in the round of 16, with Cavani scoring both goals before suffering an injury midway through the second half.