Kickoff times are Eastern. Channels, times, and team news confirmed the morning of June 15, 2026.
Day 4 belonged to Germany. They put seven past tournament debutant Curaçao in a 7-1 rout, Kai Havertz with a brace, the same scoreline they hung on Brazil in 2014. The bigger talking point came in Group F, where Japan twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with the Netherlands. Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1 in the other Group F game, and an Amad Diallo goal in stoppage time won it 1-0 for Ivory Coast over Ecuador.
Today the heavy hitters start to arrive, beginning with Spain. The reigning European champions, and one of the two clear favorites to win the whole thing alongside France, open their campaign at noon. There is a clean split to the day for anyone watching at home: the two afternoon games are free on FOX, and the evening moves to FS1.
If you are still sorting out your setup, the full how-to-watch guide covers every option from free to zero-hassle. And before the group stage really piles up, the 12 players to watch is your cheat sheet for whose names matter.
12 p.m. ET: Spain vs. Cape Verde, FOX
Spain begin their title bid against the best story of the opening round. They have not lost since a friendly defeat to Colombia in March 2024, they arrive as European champions, and they are built around a new golden generation: Pedri running midfield, and 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, the breakout name of this whole tournament, on the wing. One thing to watch early, coach Luis de la Fuente has signaled he will ease Yamal in rather than start him, managing a minor hamstring issue, so he may not appear until the second half. Either way, this is a Spain side most bookmakers have at the very top of the board.
Cape Verde are the reason to tune in even when the result feels written. The Blue Sharks are at their first World Cup, an archipelago of ten islands off West Africa with fewer than 600,000 people, one of the smallest nations ever to reach this stage. They qualified the year the country marked 50 years of independence from Portugal, finishing above Cameroon to get here, and more Cape Verdeans live abroad than on the islands themselves, which is part of why the celebrations have been everywhere. On paper this is the most lopsided tie of the round. In the stadium it will not feel that way.
How to watch: FOX, free over the air with an antenna. Telemundo and Peacock carry it in Spanish.
3 p.m. ET: Belgium vs. Egypt, FOX
This is the heavyweight matchup of Group G, and it doubles as a meeting of two stars who may both be at their last World Cup. Kevin De Bruyne, 34 and still the creative engine of Belgium, against Mohamed Salah, who turns 34 on the day of the game and would like nothing more than a present. Egypt have played at three World Cups, in 1934, 1990, and 2018, and have never won a match at any of them. Salah scored nine of their goals in qualifying. A first World Cup win, on his birthday, is the whole story for the Pharaohs.
Belgium are the favorites here, but they are not the force they once were. This is what remains of the golden generation that sat at number one in the world from 2018 to 2022: De Bruyne, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, and Romelu Lukaku, the country’s all-time top scorer, with the speed of Manchester City’s Jérémy Doku as the newer threat. They went out in the group stage in 2022 and lost in the last 16 at Euro 2024, so a clean start matters. One wrinkle, Egypt have won three of the four times these teams have met, including a 2-1 friendly just before the last World Cup, though they have never met at a tournament. The Salah question is fitness. He will play, but a hamstring problem late in the season means he may not be at full sharpness, which puts more on Omar Marmoush and Trezeguet around him.
How to watch: FOX again, free over the air. Telemundo and Peacock have it in Spanish. This is the last free game of the day.
6 p.m. ET: Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay, FS1
Uruguay are the other side expected to come out of Group H, and they carry real history: two-time world champions, built now around Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde. Saudi Arabia are the underdog, but they are the underdog that beat Argentina in the 2022 group stage, so Uruguay will not treat the opener as a formality. How to watch: FS1, which means an antenna will not get you there. You need FOX One, a live-TV service, or a cable login. Telemundo and Peacock carry it in Spanish.
9 p.m. ET: Iran vs. New Zealand, FS1
The nightcap, from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, is a meeting of two teams who keep reaching World Cups and keep going home after the group stage. New Zealand are back for the first time since 2010, when they drew all three games and still did not advance, led again by captain Chris Wood, their all-time leading scorer and the last man standing from that 2010 squad. Iran are at their seventh World Cup and have never reached the knockouts either. The twist this year, the expanded 32-team bracket means even a single win could be enough to finally break the duck, for whoever gets it. How to watch: FS1 again. FOX One, a live-TV service, or a cable login. Telemundo and Peacock in Spanish.
The 30-second watch recap
- Spending nothing today: an antenna covers the two afternoon games on FOX, Spain and Belgium. The two evening games are on FS1, so in English you will need a paid option for those. Telemundo has all four free over the air in Spanish, and there is no free Tubi match today.
- Every match, cheapest: FOX One at $19.99 a month carries today’s four and all 104.
- Zero hassle: if you already have YouTube TV or another live-TV service, every game is just there. Open the app at noon.
The full guide has the longer version, including the free-trial math.
Tomorrow the champions arrive
Tuesday is a big one, and all three of its marquee games are on FOX, so the free plan holds. France open against Senegal at 3 p.m., with Kylian Mbappé leading the line. Erling Haaland and Norway, back at a World Cup for the first time since 1998, play Iraq at 6 p.m. Then the headliner: defending champions Argentina, and Lionel Messi, begin their title defense against Algeria at 9 p.m. The only game on FS1 is the late Austria vs. Jordan.
And the marquee debuts keep coming Wednesday, when Cristiano Ronaldo begins what should be a record sixth World Cup with Portugal, and Harry Kane‘s England open against Croatia.
Four games, two of them free, and the first of the favorites finally on the grass. Good Monday.
