Americans are used to football on the fourth Thursday of November. But for the first time ever, World Cup soccer will be on during Thanksgiving, with some of the biggest names in soccer playing on the day.
These will be the final four games in Matchday 1 of the group stage — we'll see Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, and Son Heung-min take the field as the day rolls along. Here's all you need to know for the upcoming matches.
The four games
- Switzerland vs. Cameroon, 2 a.m. PT / 5 a.m. CT / 6 a.m. ET (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakra)
- Uruguay vs. Korea Republic, 5 a.m. PT / 7 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. ET (Education City Stadium, Doha)
- Portugal vs. Ghana, 8 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. CT / 11 a.m ET (Stadium 974, Doha)
- Brazil vs. Serbia, 11 a.m PT / 1 p.m CT / 2 p.m. ET (Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen)
How to watch
- Switzerland vs. Cameroon and Uruguay vs. Korea Republic will be on FS1 and Telemundo
- Portugal vs. Ghana and Brazil vs. Serbia will be on FOX and Telemundo
- Same-day 4k replays will be available on Tubi
What the oddsmakers say
- Switzerland -130, Cameroon +380, Draw +250
- Uruguay -135, Korea Republic +425, Draw +250
- Portugal -250, Ghana +775, Draw +360
- Brazil -210, Serbia +575, Draw +333
(odds courtesy of BetMGM)
Narratives we’ll be watching for
Switzerland has a knack for getting out of the group stage. Their core of Yann Sommer, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri headline the squad with serviceable role players on the team. Cameroon will look to make a good impression in their return to the World Cup after missing the last edition. Midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa has been instrumental to a Napoli side that has been regarded as the best team in Europe. He’ll be called upon to control the tempo of Cameroon as Switzerland look to win all three points.
Uruguay has a mix of veteran players, such as Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, and Diego Godin and a next generation of stars including Darwin Núñez and Federico Valverde. After being eliminated in the round of 16 in the last two tournaments, Diego Alonso’s team will look to establish dominance over their Asian opponents. Korea will be with Son Heung-min after he almost missed the World Cup due to injury. Korea was able to upset Germany in 2018 and will look to recoup that magic to start the tournament on the front foot.
After an explosive interview with Piers Morgan last week, Cristiano Ronaldo is all anybody can talk about after the just-announced mutual termination of his contract with Manchester United. But we don't know which Ronaldo we’ll see Thursday — the one that’s struggled in front of goal in recent weeks or the instinctive finisher he’s been during the overwhelming majority of his career. Ghana is the youngest team at the tournament overall, and with players like Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus and an experienced striker like Athletic Bilbao’s Iñaki Williams, the African side is capable of an upset.
Unlike the other South American powerhouse Argentina, Brazil will look to get a victory over Serbia to make good on their initial claim as tournament favorites. Serbia has firepower up front with Aleksandar Mitrović and Dušan Vlahović. The Eagles have the makings of a dark horse for this tournament, and a very talented Brazil roster (even by their standards) will be a good measuring stick to see how the Serbian team can compete.
What happened in the previous day's action
After making the final of the last edition of the tournament, Croatia only musted a 0-0 draw with Morocco in the early window on Wednesday. Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made some big saves to salvage a point for the African side.
Yassine Bounou with a HUGE save for Morocco 💪
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 23, 2022
He keeps things scoreless in the first half 🔒 pic.twitter.com/r3xF1f0HgK
Canada returned to the World Cup for the first time since 1986, with Belgium being its first test of the tournament. Although Canada put up an excellent performance against Belgium, Michy Batshuayi scored the only goal of the game before the end of the first half against the run of play. It was good showing for Canada, who can still advance out of the group stage, but if they don't, they will rue Alphonso Davies' saved penalty.
Japan came from behind to shock Germany in the Group E opener. The Japanese won 2-1 and got a crucial three points in a group that many are considering to be the Group of Death. During the team photo shoot, the German squad put their hands over their mouths to put the spotlight on Qatar’s controversial human rights issues (and FIFA's crackdown on the captains of several European teams intending to wear the One Love rainbow armbands).
It wasn’t about making a political statement – human rights are non-negotiable. That should be taken for granted, but it still isn’t the case. That’s why this message is so important to us.
— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN) November 23, 2022
Denying us the armband is the same as denying us a voice. We stand by our position. pic.twitter.com/tiQKuE4XV7
In the other Group E match, Spain routed Costa Rica 7-0. Spain’s possession-based style of play was on display as La Furia Roja completed 976 passes compared to 165 for Costa Rica.
Spain though ♨️ pic.twitter.com/TPo803AB1C
— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 23, 2022
It was not a good outing for the Ticos, who looked to replicate their magical 2014 quarterfinal run with usually-sturdy Keylor Navas in goal.