World Cup schedule: Start times for every match and how to watch

Kevin Baxter

For the first time, the FIFA World Cup is being played in the Middle East for a fall tournament highlighting soccer’s best.

The U.S. men’s national team saw its World Cup run end in a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday. After playing to draws against Wales and England, the U.S. defeated Iran 1-0 on Tuesday to reach the round of 16 before falling to the Dutch.

Mexico, hit hard by injuries and issues within its federation, was eliminated from the World Cup on Wednesday despite a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in its group-play finale.

Here’s a look at Saturday and Sunday’s round of 16 World Cup matchups:

Argentina vs. Australia

Where: Ahmed bin Ali Stadium

Time: 11 a.m. PST

TV: Fox, Telemundo, Peacock Premium

The buzz: Argentina came to Qatar riding a 36-game unbeaten streak but it has looked anything but unbeatable since arriving, losing to Saudi Arabia then beating back stiff challenges from Mexico and Poland to win the group.

Still, Argentina has been dangerous, leading the tournament in shots on goal with an average of nearly eight a game in group play. Lionel Messi has two of Argentina’s five goals, with four of those scores coming in the second half.

On the other end, Argentina keeper Emiliano Martínez shares the tournament lead with two shutouts although he’s faced just four shots.

Messi, playing in his fifth World Cup, has failed to get past the final 16 just once, with Argentina losing to eventual champion France on penalties four years ago.

Australia, meanwhile, is one of the surprises of this tournament. After getting blown out by France in its opener, it rallied to win 1-0 games over Tunisia and Denmark. The second win, which sent Australia on to the final 16 for the first time since 2006, touched off wild street celebrations in Melbourne despite the game ending just before 4 in the morning. Like Martínez, Aussie keeper Mathew Ryan has two shutouts, although he’s been a bit busier with 11 saves.

France vs. Poland

Where: Al Thumama Stadium

Time: 7 a.m. PST, Sunday

TV: FS1, Telemundo, Peacock Premium

The buzz: France is the first reigning champion to make it out of the group stage since 2006. Beset by injury problems before it even arrived in Qatar, France won its group easily, the only blemish being a 1-0 loss to Tunisia it didn’t need to win and one it started with many of its regulars on the bench.

But the French attack, so diverse in 2018, has been centered on two players, with Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud accounting for five of its six goals.

On the other end, France has allowed just five shots on goal but three of those have gone in. That should all be concerning for France because Poland’s Wojciech Szczesny arguably has been the best player in this tournament.

Szczensy leads all goalkeepers with 18 saves, has two clean sheets in three games and has stopped two penalty tries, including one by Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Because of Szczesny’s heroics, Poland advanced into the final 16 over Mexico on the goal-differential tiebreaker, marking the team’s first appearance in the knockout stages since 1986.

To win here Poland is going to have to score and that’s been a problem since it didn’t do that in two of its three group games, its only goals of the tournament coming in a win over Saudi Arabia. This is the game where Robert Lewandowski is going to have to step up if Poland is going to give Szczesny the help he needs to get Poland into the quarterfinals.

England vs. Senegal

Where: Al Bayt Stadium

Time: 11 a.m. PST, Sunday

TV: FS1, Telemundo, Peacock Premium

The buzz: Aliou Cisse was captain of the Senegal team that made history by reaching the quarterfinals in its first World Cup appearance in 2002. Now he’s has coached the team back to the knockouts for the first time since then and has the African Cup of Nations champion a win away from the quarterfinals again.

Senegal got this far without Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane, the two-time African player of the year who was injured in his penultimate game before the World Cup break. And it will again be without midfielder Idrissa Gueye, who is suspended for yellow card accumulation.

Senegal’s midfield was already expected to be without former captain Cheikhou Kouyate, who hasn’t played since sustaining a hamstring injury in Senegal’s opener with the Netherlands. That may force Cisse to turn to 20-year-old Pape Matar Sarr, who has played 14 minutes in the tournament so far.

England, ranked fifth in the world, rolled through its group unbeaten, with Marcus Rashford scoring three times and Harry Kane, the World Cup scoring champion in 2018, picking up three assists. Jordan Pickford posted shutouts in the last two games and hasn’t allowed a goal from the run of play in 205 minutes.

England’s team is deep and its workmanlike performances in the group stage suggest the Three Lions really haven’t hit stride yet.

World Cup TV schedule

Note: All scheduled group matches have been played.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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