By Rich Calder
The FIFA World Cup is set to kick off November 20 when Qatar becomes the first country in the Middle East ever to host the globe’s biggest sports tournament.
In another first, the widely watched quadrennial tournament to decide the world champions of men’s soccer won’t be played in the spring or summer months, to avoid the region’s excessive heat.
Instead, teams representing 32 nations—including defending champion France—will decide the next World Cup winner in a 29-day tournament to be held in eight venues spread over five cities. The Cup Final is set for December 18 at the 80,000-seat Lusail Iconic Stadium, when temperatures in Qatar are still typically in the mid-70s to mid-80s.
More ways than ever to watch matches live
Access to this year’s World Cup is available to everyone, no matter how many games you want to watch. For cord-cutting fans, streaming is available to see every game live, whether at home or on mobile devices and tablets.
For avid streamers, reliable internet is especially important—and nothing beats speedy fiber optic service, with plenty of bandwidth, so all the members of your household can be online at the same time.
Where can I watch the FIFA World Cup?
In the United States, all 64 games will be broadcast on Fox or its cable television affiliate Fox Sports 1 (FS1). Fox will air 35 of the games on free network TV, and 29 will run on FS1.
Telemundo Deportes andsister cable network Universohave Spanish-language rights to the World Cup.
For viewers seeking to stream the action, FS1 and Telemundo Deportes apps will also carry all games live.
You can also livestream the World Cup on many streaming services, including Peaco*ck, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream and FuboTV. If you’re not already a subscriber to one of these services, this is a good time to sign up as most of these platforms have free trial periods.
For Spanish-language broadcasts via streaming, Peaco*ck has exclusive rights. It will televise the first 12 games for free, but the rest are only available to Peaco*ck Premium subscribers.
Is the United States men’s national team participating, and when are they playing?
The USMNT stunningly failed to qualify for the last World Cup, held in Russia in 2018, the first time that had occurred in more than three decades, marking a huge setback for men’s soccer in the U.S.
Now, the USMNT is back and has drawn Group B alongside England, Iran and Wales. (In the opening round, the World Cup’s 32 teams are split into eight groups of four, with the winners and second-place finishers advancing to the next round.)
The U.S. will open play November 21 against Wales and conclude its bracket’s action November 29 against Iran, with a much-anticipated match versus powerhouse England scheduled for November 25.
If the USMNT wins its group, it advances to a Round of 16 match on December 4 against the runner-up from Group A (Qatar, Senegal, the Netherlands and Ecuador).
If the USMNT finishes second, it faces Group A’s winner December 3.
Should the USMNT finish third or last, they’d be eliminated after just eight days in the World Cup.
Who are the favorites to win the tournament?
According to recent 2022 World Cup odds from Caesars Sportsbook, the USMNT is going off as a big 100-1 long shot.
Meanwhile, five-time champion Brazil is a 4-1 favorite, with defending champ France at 6-1 to repeat. Other top teams expected to draw betting action include Argentina (13-2), England (7-1) and Spain (8-1), according to CBSSports.com.
Among the tournament’s main storylines will be aging superstar Lionel Messi’s bid to lead Argentina to its first title since 1986, when it was then led by another all-time great, Diego Maradona. Messi is considered by many to be soccer’s greatest of all time, but some critics say he needs to win a World Cup to be considered the GOAT.
Other superstars to keep an eye on will include Cristiano Rolando of Portugal, France’s Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane of England.
When is the next FIFA Women’s World Cup?
Australia and New Zealand will jointly host the games next year, July 20 through August 20. The U.S. will look to make it three straight championships.
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