Getty
Argentina and Croatia, the two favorites to advance out of Group D before the World Cup started, meet Thursday for an important match inside Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.
In the United States, the game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on Fox (English broadcast) and Telemundo (Spanish broadcast). If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch the game–and every other World Cup game–live on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Fox (live in most markets) and Telemundo are both included in the “Fubo Premier” bundle, which has a channel package that is largely tailored towards international soccer fans. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch any World Cup game live on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch the game live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch any World Cup game up to three days after it airs even if you forgot to record it.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of live TV channels, including both Fox (live in most markets) and Telemundo. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch every World Cup game live on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch the game live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials), allowing you to watch any game after it airs.
Fox (but not Telemundo) is included in the “Sling Blue” package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of both, and you can then watch any World Cup game live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch a game live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Preview
Croatia hasn’t been past the group stage at a World Cup since they finished third in 1998, but they’re in good position to break that trend after a 2-0 win over Nigeria in their 2018 opener last week. One goal was of the own-goal variety, and other came via penalty, but it was still a solid performance from Zlatko Dalic’s squad, as they held 55 percent of possession, completed 79 percent of their attempted passes and held Nigeria to just two shots on goal.
As for Argentina, it was a less-than-optimal start for the 2014 runners-up. Unable to fully break down Iceland’s stingy, physical defense, La Albiceleste came away with a 1-1 draw. A missed penalty from Lionel Messi in the 63rd minute was the big talking point, but Jorge Sampaoli’s squad lacked quality in the final third for much of the game, finishing with just the one goal despite holding 78 percent of the possession and firing off 27 shots.
All of that makes for a very intriguing match on Thursday.
These are still the two favorites to advance out of the group–according to FiveThirtyEight’s model, Croatia has an 84 percent chance of advancing to the knockout round, while Argentina is at a solid 68 percent. But if Argentina lose or even play to another draw, they would suddenly have a lot of work to do when they play Nigeria next week.
Argentina, who should have a bit more urgency after the draw against Iceland, are slight favorites to earn three points, but Croatia are legitimately good.
This could very easily turn into one of the best matches of the group stage.