World Cup 2018: How to watch the matches online and on TV

People watch as the FIFA World Cup trophy is displayed in central Moscow. Russia is hosting soccer's mega-event for the next month — and people around the world will be watching matches live, online and on TV.
People watch as the FIFA World Cup trophy is displayed in central Moscow. Russia is hosting soccer's mega-event for the next month — and people around the world will be watching matches live, online and on TV.
Maxim Shemetov

The World Cup starts on June 14 and runs through July 15. The games are in Russia, which is seven hours ahead of Eastern Time — meaning many of the matches will be held around midday in the U.S. So, how can you watch? We run down the options, online and broadcast:

By tradition, the first match features the host country: Russia plays Saudi Arabia on Thursday, June 14, at 11 a.m. ET. The tournament then switches to a higher gear, holding three matches daily for the first 10 days. Then it ramps up to four matches daily from June 25-28 – the final days of the group phase.

The knockout phase begins on June 30, with the Round of 16. The semifinals are set for July 10 and 11 – both games are at 2 p.m. ET — with the finals scheduled for July 15, at 11 a.m. ET. Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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