World Cup Gamethread: Portugal vs Spain

Location: Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg, Russia

Time: 5:00 pm local time, 8:00 am EST

TV/Streaming: USA (Fox Sports 1, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Telemundo, Sling World Cup, Futbol de Primera Radio), Germany (SRF zwei, ORF TV Live, ORF eins, ARD Das Erste, Sportschau Live), Canada (RDS, TSN5, TSN4, TSN1, TSN Radio 1040 - 1410, TSN GO, RDS GO), India (SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY TEN 3 HD, Sony ESPN HD, SONY TEN 2, Sony LIV, SONY TEN 3, Sony ESPN)

Full Listings: Your country (via livesoccertv.com)

Morocco and Iran will face each other in the second match of the day. Their goal? Try to make some noise in a rather tough group. Neither team is favored to come out of the group that also features Spain and Portugal, but both will be hoping that a victory on Friday can catapult one of them to escaping the group.

Before being drawn into a difficult group, both Morocco and Iran had high hopes of getting to the knockout rounds. While their hopes may be dampened, their spirits are not crushed. Both of these teams have the talent to force their way out of this group. The problem is, with Spain sitting out there, it’s likely that only one of them will be able to make it.

If one of these teams can come away with all three points in this one, they can put a lot of pressure on Portugal (or Spain) if they don’t get the result they want in the third match of the day.

Location: Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Time: 6:00 pm local time, 11:00 am EST

TV/Streaming: USA (Futbol de Primera Radio, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Sling World Cup, Telemundo, FOX Network), Germany (ORF TV Live, ARD Das Erste, SRF zwei, ORF eins, Sportschau Live), Canada (TSN Radio 1040 - 1410, RDS GO, TSN5, TSN GO, TSN4, RDS), India (Sony LIV, SONY TEN 3 HD, SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY TEN 3, Sony ESPN HD, SONY TEN 2, Sony ESPN)

Full Listings: Your country (via livesoccertv.com)

The final match of the day has the potential to be boom or bust. The quality of the match will hinge on what kind of game Portugal wants to play on the day. Will the reigning European champions come out of their shell to attack the Spanish or will they be content to sit back, absorb the possession-pressure, and try to counter?

After having to come out of the Euro 2016 Final early with an injury, you know that Cristiano Ronaldo believes that he has something to prove on the biggest stage of them all once again. Will he try to do too much and not allow the other Portuguese players the opportunity to grow into the game?

Also, can we talk about Spain? The fired Julen Lopetegui two days before their first World Cup game, because it was announced that he would be Real Madrid’s coach next season. Fernando Hierro was promoted to the manager position and seems to have the backing of the players.

Yes, Spain is one of the best and deepest teams in the entire tournament. Yes, firing your coach days before the tournament seems like a crazy thing to do. Yes, nobody has any idea how it’s going to affect them on the field.

Location: Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi, Russia

Time: 9:00 pm local time, 2:00 pm EST

TV/Streaming: USA (Sling World Cup, FOX Network, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Telemundo, Futbol de Primera Radio), Germany (ORF eins, Sportschau Live, ARD Das Erste, Sky Sport UHD Germany, Sky Go Deutschland, ORF TV Live, SRF zwei), Canada (TSN GO, TSN4, RDS GO, TSN Radio 1040 - 1410, RDS, TSN5), India (SONY TEN 3, Sony ESPN HD, SONY TEN 3 HD, Sony LIV, SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY TEN 2, Sony ESPN)

Full Listings: Your country (via livesoccertv.com)

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