FIFA World Cup 2014 TV schedule and preview

The FIFA World Cup 2014 TV schedule begins June 12 with Brazil vs. Croatia. All 64 matches of the tournament will be televised live, with ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC airing the English-language broadcasts, and Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMás and Galavision broadcasting in Spanish.

Sports events don’t get any bigger than the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, the monthlong global extravaganza that sends lovers of “The Beautiful Game” into a frenzy every four years.

From June 12-July 13, soccer-crazy Brazil hosts the tournament for the second time (the first was in 1950), with games in 12 cities. The host country, whose legendary team has a record five World Cup titles, opens the tournament vs. Croatia June 12 in São Paulo.

The World Cup format has 32 teams divided into eight groups. In the group stage, each team plays the other teams in its group once. The top two teams from each group advance to the Round of 16 “knockout stage,” the single-elimination tournament that pares the field down to two teams that meet in the final match in Rio de Janeiro July 13.

All 64 matches of the tournament will be televised live, with ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC airing the English-language broadcasts, and Univision, Univision Deportes, UniMás and Galavision broadcasting in Spanish.

ALSO SEE: 2014 FIFA World Cup Spanish-Language TV coverage on Univision networks

The U.S. Men’s National Team plays in in Group G, widely regarded as this tournament’s “Group of Death.” The U.S. has its first World Cup action June 16 (ESPN) vs. familiar foe Ghana, who knocked them out of the 2010 World Cup with a 2-1 extra time win in the Round of 16 and defeated them in group play four years earlier. Things will only get tougher for the U.S. in the remaining group matches against Portugal June 22 (ESPN) and Germany June 26 (ESPN).

Top contenders to capture the Cup include Spain, Germany, Portugal, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland, Italy and Greece.

Four years ago in South Africa (vuvuzelas, anyone?), Spain won its first World Cup by beating the Netherlands 1-0 in extra time.

2014 FIFA World Cup Schedule at a Glance
Group Matches June 12-26 (ESPN, ESPN2 & ABC)
Round of 16 June 28-July 1 (ESPN & ABC)
Quarterfinals July 4-5 (ESPN, ESPN2 & ABC)
Semifinals July 8-9 (ESPN)
Third Place Match July 12 (ESPN)
Final July 13 (ABC)

FIFA World Cup 2014 TV schedule

All times Eastern. UDN = Univision Deportes Network.

GROUP STAGE

Thursday, June 12

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
1 4pm Brazil vs. Croatia ESPN Univision/UDN A Sao Paulo

Friday, June 13

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
2 12pm Mexico vs. Cameroon ESPN2 Univision/UDN A Natal
3 3pm Spain vs. Netherlands ESPN Univision/UDN B Salvador
4 6pm Chile vs. Australia ESPN2 Univision/UDN B Cuiaba

Saturday, June 14

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
5 12pm Colombia vs. Greece ABC Univision/UDN C Belo Horizonte
7 3pm Uruguay vs. Costa Rica ABC Univision/UDN D Fortaleza
8 6pm England vs. Italy ESPN Univision/UDN D Manaus
6 9pm Ivory Coast vs. Japan ESPN Univision/UDN C Recife

Sunday, June 15

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
9 12pm Switzerland vs. Ecuador ABC Univision/UDN E Brasilia
10 3pm France vs. Honduras ABC Univision/UDN E Porto Alegre
11 6pm Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina ESPN Univision/UDN F Rio de Janeiro

Monday, June 16

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
13 12pm Germany vs. Portugal ESPN Univision/UDN G Salvador
12 3pm Iran vs. Nigeria ESPN Univision/UDN F Curitiba
14 6pm Ghana vs. United States ESPN Univision/UDN G Natal

Tuesday, June 17

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
15 12pm Belgium vs. Algeria ESPN Univision/UDN H Belo Horizonte
17 3pm Brazil vs. Mexico ESPN Univision/UDN A Fortaleza
16 6pm Russia vs. South Korea ESPN Univision/UDN H Cuiaba

Wednesday, June 18

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
20 12pm Australia vs. Netherlands ESPN Univision/UDN B Porto Alegre
19 3pm Spain vs. Chile ESPN Univision/UDN B Rio de Janeiro
18 6pm Cameroon vs. Croatia ESPN Univision/UDN A Manaus

Thursday, June 19

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
21 12pm Colombia vs. Ivory Coast ESPN Univision/UDN C Brasilia
23 3pm Uruguay vs. England ESPN Univision/UDN D Sao Paulo
22 6pm Japan vs. Greece ESPN Univision/UDN C Natal

Friday, June 20

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
24 12pm Italy vs. Costa Rica ESPN Univision/UDN D Recife
25 3pm Switzerland vs. France ESPN Univision/UDN E Salvador
26 6pm Honduras vs. Ecuador ESPN Univision/UDN E Curitiba

Saturday, June 21

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
27 12pm Argentina vs. Iran ESPN Univision/UDN F Belo Horizonte
29 3pm Germany vs. Ghana ESPN Univision/UDN G Fortaleza
28 6pm Nigeria vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina ESPN Univision/UDN F Cuiaba

Sunday, June 22

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
31 12pm Belgium vs. Russia ABC Univision/UDN H Rio de Janeiro
32 3pm South Korea vs. Algeria ABC Univision/UDN H Porto Alegre
30 6pm United States vs. Portugal ESPN Univision/UDN G Manaus

Monday, June 23

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
36 12pm Netherlands vs. Chile ESPN Univision/UDN B Sao Paulo
35 12pm Australia vs. Spain ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision B Curitiba
34 4pm Croatia vs. Mexico ESPN Univision/UDN A Recife
33 4pm Cameroon vs. Brazil ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision A Brasilia

Tuesday, June 24

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
39 12pm Italy vs. Uruguay ESPN Univision/UDN D Natal
40 12pm Costa Rica vs. England ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision D Belo Horizonte
37 4pm Japan vs. Colombia ESPN Univision/UDN C Cuiaba
38 4pm Greece vs. Ivory Coast ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision C Fortaleza

Wednesday, June 25

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
43 12pm Nigeria vs. Argentina ESPN Univision/UDN F Porto Alegre
44 12pm Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision F Salvador
42 4pm Ecuador vs. France ESPN Univision/UDN E Rio de Janeiro
41 4pm Honduras vs. Switzerland ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision E Manaus

Thursday, June 26

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Group Site
45 12pm United States vs. Germany ESPN Univision/UDN G Recife
46 12pm Portugal vs. Ghana ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision G Brasilia
47 4pm South Korea vs. Belgium ESPN Univision/UDN H Sao Paulo
48 4pm Algeria vs. Russia ESPN2 UniMas/Galavision H Curitiba

SECOND STAGE: ROUND OF 16

Saturday, June 28

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
49 12pm 1A Brazil vs. 2B Chile ABC Univision/UDN Belo Horizonte
50 4pm 1C Colombia vs. 2D Uruguay ABC Univision/UDN Rio de Janeiro

Sunday, June 29

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
51 12pm 1B Netherlands vs. 2A Mexico ESPN Univision/UDN Fortaleza
52 4pm 1D Costa Rica vs. 2C Greece ESPN Univision/UDN Recife

Monday, June 30

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
53 12pm 1E France vs. 2F Nigeria ESPN Univision/UDN Brasilia
54 4pm 1G Germany vs. 2H Algeria ESPN Univision/UDN Porto Alegre

Tuesday, July 1

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
55 12pm 1F Argentina vs. 2E Switzerland ESPN Univision/UDN Sao Paulo
56 4pm 1H Belgium vs. 2G United States ESPN Univision/UDN Salvador

SECOND STAGE: QUARTERFINALS

Friday, July 4

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
58 12pm France vs. Germany ESPN2 Univision/UDN Rio de Janeiro
57 4pm Brazil vs. Colombia ESPN Univision/UDN Fortaleza

Saturday, July 5

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
60 12pm Argentina vs. Belgium ABC Univision/UDN Brasilia
59 4pm Netherlands vs. Costa Rica ESPN Univision/UDN Salvador

SECOND STAGE: SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, July 8

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
61 4pm Brazil vs. Germany ESPN Univision/UDN Belo Horizonte

Wednesday, July 9

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
62 4pm Netherlands  vs. Argentina ESPN Univision/UDN Sao Paulo

THIRD PLACE MATCH

Saturday, July 12

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
63 4pm Brazil vs. Netherlands ESPN Univision/UDN Brasilia

FINAL MATCH

Sunday, July 13

Match # Match Time (Live ET) Match English TV Spanish TV Site
64 3pm Germany vs. Argentina ABC Univision/UDN Rio de Janeiro

 

2 Comments

  1. Just can’t wait for the tournament to get started with 3 days to go it will be an amazing month. I have saved local tv schedule so that i don’t miss a thing.

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About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.