Yesterday the 2018 World Cup got going with a full slate of games, but got REALLY going when Spain and Portugal battled to a 3-3 draw that saw Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat trick (including a late game free kick golazo) outweigh a brace by Diego Costa in a game that not only lived up to the hype but was one of the better group stage games in recent memory. Today brings a quartet of games to the table, each with reasons to watch, but do they come close to yesterday afternoon’s thriller?
France vs. Australia
What to watch for: France can either go really deep in the tournament or flame out early; firepower like Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud (31 career France goals) and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann (20 goals) combined with Monaco’s Thomas Lemar up front, and central midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante steadying things in the middle to work charms too. PSG’s Kylian Mbappe suffered an injury in training while Ousmane Dembele went from Dortmund to Barcelona in the winter and hamstring problems shelved him until now, so their respective statuses are unknown. The Aussies...well...Tim Cahill still plays club games, and national ones too at age 38! The French should be heavily favored in this and to advance in Group C.
Location: Kazan Arena (Kazan)
Kickoff time: 6:00am Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1, Telemundo
Available streaming: Telemundo (just click it!)
Argentina vs. Iceland
What to watch for: There’s a bit of narrative on both sides here in Group D’s opener; the Strákarnir okkar were celebrated for their Quarterfinals appearance in the Euro 2016 tournament (losing to the French) and became the smallest country by population (at 350,000) to secure a World Cup berth during qualifying. Coach Heimir Hallgrímsson is a dentist in his free time and their most recognizable player (Gylfi Sigurdsson) spends time with Everton. The Argies have firepower in the most talented player in the world (Lionel Messi), two top goalscorer in Italy (Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain) and England (Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero), but little in the way of international trophies to speak of. La Albiceleste have a tendency to fall short in recent tournaments, being runners-up in the 2014 tournament and 4 of the last 5 Copa America tournaments, including the last one on American soil in 2016.
Location: Spartak Stadium (Moscow)
Kickoff time: 9:00am Eastern
Available TV: Fox, Telemundo
Available streaming: Telemundo (again, just click it)
Peru vs. Denmark
What to watch for: Los Incas’ first World Cup appearance in 36 years was not without some ups and downs due to the initial doping suspension (and later, reinstatement of) their captain (forward Paolo Guerrero), but they also have Jefferson Farfan and soon-to-be Seattle Sounders’ Designated Player Raul Ruidiaz. In case of keeper injury, onetime D.C. United third-stringer Jose Carvallo could make an appearance. For the Danes, you’ve got Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen as the Danish lynchpin, and that could be enough to get them some points in Group C.
Location: Mordovia Arena (Saransk)
Kickoff time: 12:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1, Telemundo
Available streaming: Telemundo (why haven’t you clicked yet?)
Croatia vs. Nigeria
What to watch for: What should be a fight for one of the other places in Group D (Argentina will surely have the first?) gives us Croatians from Real Madrid (Luka Modric), Barcelona (Ivan Rakitic) and Juventus (Mario Mandzukic). The Nigerians have Victor Moses and some other speed to burn, but the result will be interesting to see; a bland, scoreless draw opens the door for Iceland to perhaps nick a point from either in subsequent games.
Location: Kaliningrad Stadium (Kaliningrad)
Kickoff time: 3:00pm Eastern
Available TV: Fox Sports 1, Telemundo
Available streaming: Telemundo (come onnn, just click!)
For listings in other countries, check out LiveSoccerTV.com.