One of the World Cup’s most-anticipated group stage games is in the spotlight Sunday: Spain vs. Germany. Canada also returns to action after impressing fans but losing its opener to Belgium, and Japan aims to build on its upset of Germany against Costa Rica.
Here’s how to watch all the action.
FS1 has the entire day’s live coverage in English, from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fox has no games because of the NFL; it just has a late-night show at midnight. 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 E: Japan vs. Costa Rica
Time: 5 a.m.
Venue: Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (Ian Darke on play-by-play with analyst Landon Donovan and referee expert Joe Machnik)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Copán Alvarez on play-by-play with analysts Oscar Pérez and Amelia Valverde)
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.
Players to watch
Japan: Ritsu Dōan. Four minutes after the 24-year-old forward came off the bench against Germany, he scored the tying goal — against the country where he plays his club soccer for Freiburg. Another big performance could see bigger clubs start calling.
Costa Rica: Francisco Calvo. You can’t have much worse of a game than the former Minnesota United, Chicago Fire and San Jose Earthquakes centerback did against Spain. Then again, that goes for just about everyone in the 7-0 rout.
Group F: Belgium vs. Morocco
Time: 8 a.m.
Venue: Al Thumama Stadium, Doha
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (Derek Rae on play-by-play with analyst Aly Wagner and referee expert Joe Machnik)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Jorge Calvo on play-by-play with analysts Sebastián Abreu and Claudio Borghi)
Players to watch
Belgium: Eden Hazard. The often-maligned Real Madrid veteran had a solid game against Canada, according to the box score, but a quiet one. This game is a chance to show he’s still got his talent after many years on the Real bench.
Morocco: Achraf Hakimi. The Atlas Lions put in a big shift in holding Croatia to a scoreless tie, and their star right back was at the front of the line. Now he faces an even bigger test against Belgium star Kevin de Bruyne.
Group F: Croatia vs. Canada
Time: 11 a.m.
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (JP Dellacamera on play-by-play with analyst Cobi Jones and referee expert Mark Clattenburg)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Sammy Sadovnik on play-by-play with analysts Eduardo Biscayart and Tab Ramos)
Players to watch
Croatia: Ivan Perišić. Another scoreless tie likely won’t be of much help, even though Croatia’s group stage finale is against Costa Rica. It’s up to the veteran Tottenham Hotspur winger to help get the ball in the net.
Canada: Jonathan David. The Canucks’ top striker probably ought to take the team’s penalty kicks from now on.
Group E: Spain vs. Germany
Time: 2 p.m.
Venue: Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (John Strong on play-by-play with analyst Stuart Holden, reporter Geoff Shreeves and referee expert Mark Clattenburg)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Andrés Cantor on play-by-play with analysts Fernando Hierro and Manuel Sol)
Players to watch
Spain: Sergio Busquets. If Germany’s players are as angry about the Japan loss as reports say they are, they’re going to throw the house at getting a win. Busquets will bear the brunt of it as Spain’s midfield anchor.
Germany: Kai Havertz. If German manager Hansi Flick leaves strikers Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko on the bench again, Havertz will probably start at striker as he did against Japan. He was caught offside three times in the game, leaving him with zero official shots. That can’t happen again.