The World Cup group stages continue with another four matches on Wednesday as Qatar 2022 really begins to hit its stride.
On Tuesday, we saw one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history, as Lionel Messi made a a woeful start to his fifth tournament with Argentina’s shock 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia, while France came back from a goal down to dispatch Australia 4-1.
Today, three teams with big hopes in Qatar will taste action for the first time in the form of Germany, Spain and Belgium – here’s how to watch all the games live.
What World Cup games are on TV today?
Wednesday’s World Cup action starts with Morocco vs Croatia in Group F, which kicks off at 10am (all timings are for the UK – Iran is three hours ahead) at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.
It is being shown live on ITV – the coverage starts at 9am, presented by Seema Jaswal. Commentary is from Jon Champion and John Hartson, with analysis from Joe Cole, Nadia Nadim and Nigel de Jong.
This is followed by Germany vs Japan, the first fixture in Group E, with a kick-off time of 1pm at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
Again, this match is being broadcast by ITV, with build-up from 12.10pm. Mark Pougatch takes over as anchor for the clash, with commentary Sam Matterface and Ally McCoist, and Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Karen Carney in the studio.
Next up is Spain vs Costa Rica, also in Group E, which kicks off at 4pm at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
This rounds off a triple-bill of live games on ITV today, with Laura Woods presenting, Clive Tyldesley and Lee Dixon on comms, and analysis from Eni Aluko, Gary Neville and Graeme Souness.
Wednesday’s World Cup action culminates with the Group F clash Belgium vs Canada, which gets underway at 7pm from the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan.
For the day’s final fixture the live coverage switches to BBC One, with build-up from 6.30pm. Gary Lineker will be hosting, with commentary from Steve Wilson and Jermaine Jenas.
Can I watch on BBC iPlayer or ITVX?
As per the TV licensing website, you need to pay for a TV licence in order to watch BBC iPlayer, and this applies for “live, catch up or on demand”, with “any device and provider you use”.
It adds: “Don’t forget, you still need a TV licence to watch live on any channel, TV service or streaming service.” This means that you also need one to watch live World Cup action on the ITVX (formerly ITV Hub) service.
However, you do not need a TV licence to watch non-BBC programmes on online catch-up services, so you will still be allowed to watch ITV’s World Cup highlights (but not BBC) after they are broadcast.
A TV licence costs £159 a year for both homes and businesses, and covers any TV sets, laptops, tablets, phones and other devices that can receive a TV signal in a single property.
You can check if you need to purchase one on the TV licensing website here, and can buy your licence via the link here.
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What can you expect from the World Cup today?
Three of the World Cup’s outside favourites are in action on Wednesday in the form of Germany, Spain and Belgium, so all eyes will be on their fixtures.
Spain, the winners of the 2010 tournament, have brought a young squad to Qatar, with an overall squad average age of just 25.
Head coach Luis Enrique opted to omit the likes of Thiago Alcantara, David De Gea and 36-year-old Sergio Ramos from the line-up, but boasts exciting youngsters like Pedri, Ansu Fati and Gavi.
At the pre-match press conference, Enrique said: “It’s positive because young players bring energy to the team. We try to manage that with the experience we have as staff and try to get the best for any player.
“The players know that the training sessions are where you can win your position for the game, and the intensity has been really high.”
Wednesday’s match will be the first competitive encounter between Spain and Costa Rica, who secured their place at this year’s global showpiece with a play-off victory over New Zealand.
Germany opens its World Cup campaign against Japan as it attempts to recover from its 2018 elimination from the group stage as the defending champions.
Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich was a member of that squad, and has been waiting a long time to banish the memories.
He said ahead of his side’s opening fixture: “Our motivation is huge. We know that was terrible what happened and we have had quite the wait, four-and-a-half years.
“Tomorrow it will be very important to start with a good game. The first game is extremely important. At the Euros we lost the first game and we didn’t win that. It was quite an experience and I hope tomorrow we will be winning.”
Belgium beat England to third place at the 2018 World Cup, but are set to be without their striker Romelu Lukaku against Canada.
Manager Roberto Martinez said: “Medically, there are 25 fully-fit players tomorrow and Romelu Lukaku is the only one who is going to miss out.”
He added that a change of scenery should benefit the team’s talismanic captain Eden Hazard, who has struggled since moving to Real Madrid in 2019.
The manager said: “As for Eden, he is our captain. In the last two years it has been a tough situation for him in terms of the playing minutes.
“But here it is a different environment for him. We are a better team when Eden Hazard is in our dressing room.”
Canada are back on football’s biggest stage for only the second time in their history, and first in 36 years.
Their manager Josh Herdman – the only other English boss in Qatar – said: “There are a lot of days I have had in my life and I would never have envisaged this when I was back working in the Sunderland Academy.
“Like a lot of the lads, we are pinching ourselves. As the first game looms, it is getting more real by the hour, but it has been a hell of a journey to get here.
“We have been gritty and resilient and hopefully that is what you will see from us throughout this tournament.”
Additional reporting from agencies
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