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Belgium and Panama begin their 2018 World Cup campaigns on Monday with a Group G matchup at Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi.
In the United States, the game is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports 1 (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 Sports 1 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 Sports 1 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 Sports 1 (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
Thirty-two years removed from their last–and only–trip to the semifinals at a World Cup, Belgium have to be considered legitimate threats to go all the way in Russia. They were absolutely dominant during qualification, going 9-1-0 and outscoring opponents 43-6, and they enter fresh off a 3-0 win over Egypt and 4-1 win over Costa Rica earlier this month.
Roberto Martinez’s squad, which has climbed to No. 3 in the FIFA rankings, has strenghts all over the pitch. Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne are as good of an attacking duo as you’ll find in the world, Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens are strong goal-scoring threats who each found the back of the net 20-plus times with their respective clubs this year, and the defense is strong and experienced up the middle.
As for Panama, it’s been a rough lead-up to Russia. Some of their recent friendly results include a 6-0 loss against Switzerland, a 1-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago that required a 93rd-minute goal, a 0-0 draw against Northern Ireland and a 1-0 loss against Norway. Still, Panama is playing in their first World Cup and have nothing to lose, which often makes a team dangerous.
Belgium is a massive favorite (-770) and should ultimately have little trouble earning three points, but it should still be an entertaining match between two exciting teams.