After struggles in their group stage openers, Mexico and Argentina clash in Saturday’s big game at the World Cup. Earlier in the day, Poland and defending champion France are in action.
Here’s how to watch it all.
FS1 has the entire day’s live coverage in English, from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fox has no games because of college football; it just has a late-night show at midnight. If you’re a Penn State football fan, be warned that Argentina-Mexico could run over the start of the Nittany Lions’ 4 p.m. home game against Michigan State. Telemundo’s coverage is nonstop from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., and its late studio show is at 11:30 p.m.
Group D: Tunisia vs. Australia
Time: 5 a.m.
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (Ian Darke on play-by-play with analyst Maurice Edu and referee expert Joe Machnik)
Spanish TV/streaming: Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Sammy Sadovnik on play-by-play with analysts Eduardo Biscayart and Diana Rincón)
FoxSports.com and TelemundoDeportes.com require authentication through participating pay-TV providers. Peacock is NBC and Telemundo’s subscription streaming service. The first 12 games of the World Cup will be available on Peacock’s free tier, then the rest will be behind the subscription paywall.
Fox also has replays of every game for free on its streaming platform Tubi.
Betting odds: Tunisia +110, Australia +280, tie +210
Players to watch
Tunisia: Hannibal Mejbri. For a scoreless tie, Tunisia-Denmark was fairly entertaining, with 24 combined shots. Mejbri livened up the game’s late stages as an 80th-minute sub, and his arrival drew a big roar from the big crowd of Tunisian fans. They know the 19-year-old is a big-time prospect. He grew up in Manchester United’s academy, and is spending this season on loan at England’s Birmingham City.
Australia: Awer Mabil. Here’s one of the best individual stories at this World Cup. The 27-year-old child of refugees from Sudan’s civil war was born in a camp in Kenya, and moved to Australia at age 10. He turned out to be quite good at soccer, turned pro at age 17, and after a few years at Adelaide United headed to Europe. He’s now at Spain’s Cádiz, his sixth European club in seven years, and hopefully he’ll stick there. This much is certain: he’s devoted to his charity, and he scored the Socceroos’ winning penalty kick in the World Cup qualifying playoffs.
Group C: Poland vs. Saudi Arabia
Time: 8 a.m.
Venue: Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (Jacqui Oatley on play-by-play with analyst Warren Barton and referee expert Joe Machnik)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Jorge Calvo on play-by-play with analysts Sebastián Abreu and Natalia Astrain)
Betting odds: Poland -140, Saudi Arabia +390, tie +260
Players to watch
Poland: Robert Lewandowski. It has to be him again, after he took a rather poor penalty kick against Mexico that was saved. He has yet to score in four career World Cup games, and he knows Argentina is still to come.
Saudi Arabia: Salem Al-Dawsari. Here’s another repeat mention. He got the spotlight ahead of Argentina-Saudi Arabia, and who could have guessed the pick would be that right?
Group D: France vs. Denmark
Time: 11 a.m.
Venue: Stadium 974, Doha
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (JP Dellacamera on play-by-play with analyst Cobi Jones, reporter Jenny Taft and referee expert Mark Clattenburg)
Spanish TV/streaming: Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Copán Alvarez on play-by-play with analysts Claudio Borghi and Fernando Hierro)
Betting odds: France -135, Denmark +390, tie +260
Players to watch
France: Theo Hernández. He took the field as a substitute against Australia after his brother Lucas ruptured the ACL in his left knee on the play where the Socceroos scored. Fortunately, France has some depth at left back; even better, Les Bleus came back from that goal to win in a 4-1 rout. But the squad is now down to 24 players.
Denmark: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. One of the Danes’ best attacking talents, the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder had just one shot and zero chances created against Tunisia. He must improve if the team is to earn an upset here.
Group C: Argentina vs. Mexico
Time: 2 p.m.
Venue: Lusail Stadium, Lusail
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (John Strong on play-by-play with analyst Stuart Holden, reporter Rodolfo Landeros, and referee expert Mark Clattenburg)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Andrés Cantor on play-by-play with analysts Miguel Herrera and Manuel Sol)
Betting odds: Argentina -200, Mexico +600, tie +310
Players to watch
Argentina: Rodrigo De Paul. All the talk of the albiceleste being potential title favorites will go up in smoke if the defense doesn’t improve from the stunning loss to Saudi Arabia. A lot of people must step up, including De Paul in the heart of midfield.
Mexico: Guillermo Ochoa. Playing in his third World Cup and on a roster for his fifth, the veteran goalkeeper showed with the big save on Lewandowski that he’s still El Tri’s finest.
