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How to Watch the U.S. at the World Cup: Schedule, Roster and Expectations

Four years ago, American fans watched the World Cup with heavy hearts because the U.S. men had shockingly failed to qualify. But the eight-year wait is over. The United States is back and has three huge games in Qatar (and maybe more than that, U.S. fans hope).

How can I watch the World Cup in the United States?

All games will be broadcast on Fox or its FS1 cable channel. Telecasts in Spanish will mostly be on Telemundo, but if two games are played simultaneously, Universo will pick one up.

Peacock will stream the Spanish-language broadcasts, and the first 12 games will not require a subscription. (After that, Peacock Premium is $5 a month.)

To stream the English-language Fox Sports broadcasts, you’ll need a subscription to a streaming package that includes Fox, like YouTube TV, Hulu, SlingTV or Fubo. (Some offer free trials.) Tubi will stream the games for free, but only as replays, after the games are over.

When will the United States play its group stage games?

Monday, Nov. 21: United States vs. Wales. 2 p.m. Eastern. Fox, Telemundo, Peacock (free).

Friday, Nov. 25: England vs. United States. 2 p.m. Eastern. Fox, Telemundo, Peacock.

A Brief Guide to the 2022 World Cup

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What is the World Cup? The quadrennial event pits the best national soccer teams against each other for the title of world champion. Here’s a primer to the 2022 men’s tournament:

Where is it being held? This year’s host is Qatar, which in 2010 beat the United States and Japan to win the right to hold the tournament. Whether that was an honest competition remains in dispute.

When is it? The tournament opened on Nov. 20, when Qatar played Ecuador. Over the two weeks that follow, four games will be played on most days. The tournament ends with the final on Dec. 18.

Is a winter World Cup normal? No. The World Cup usually takes place in July. But in 2015, FIFA concluded that the summer temperatures in Qatar might have unpleasant consequences for fans and players and agreed to move the tournament to the relatively bearable months of November and December.

How many teams are competing? Thirty-two. Qatar qualified automatically as the host, and after years of matches, the other 31 teams earned the right to come and play. Meet the teams here.

How does the tournament work? The 32 teams are divided into eight groups of four. In the opening stage, each team plays all the other teams in its group once. The top two finishers in each group advance to the round of 16. After that, the World Cup is a straight knockout tournament.

How can I watch the World Cup in the U.S.? The tournament will be broadcast on Fox and FS1 in English, and on Telemundo in Spanish. You can livestream it on Peacock, or on streaming services that carry Fox and FS1. Here’s how to watch every match.

When will the games take place? Qatar is five hours ahead of London, eight hours ahead of New York and 11 hours ahead of Los Angeles. That means there will be predawn kickoffs on the East Coast of the United States for some games, and midafternoon starts for 10 p.m. games in Qatar.

Got more questions? We’ve got more answers here.

Tuesday, Nov. 29: Iran vs. United States. 2 p.m. Eastern. Fox, Telemundo, Peacock.

How have the Americans done in the past?

This is the 11th World Cup for the U.S. men. The team’s best performance came in the first World Cup in 1930, held in Uruguay, when it made the semifinals. That tournament was missing several top teams from Europe, however. The best recent performance was a quarterfinal berth in 2002. (The U.S. women have won the World Cup four times.)

How will they do this time?

England is the comfortable favorite in the Americans’ group, from which two teams will qualify. But the United States is generally considered to be the second favorite, just ahead of Wales. Iran is the outsider.

The opening game is crucial. If the Americans beat Wales, they will be in a strong position to advance. But a loss would mean they might well have to beat England to get a top-two spot.

Should the United States advance, it would face a game in the round of 16 on Dec. 3 or 4, quite possibly against the Netherlands, a tournament contender. A quarterfinal opponent could be Argentina or Denmark. And it would only get tougher from there.

Bookmakers are offering roughly 150-to-1 odds on the United States lifting the World Cup.

Who is on the final roster?

The United States men’s soccer team has an average age of 25 years 214 days; they will be the second-youngest of the 32 World Cup squads, according to Nielsen’s Gracenote, a data provider. Only Ghana, with an average of 25 years 108 days, has a younger 26-man squad.

Here is the squad, with the players’ professional clubs; their number of international appearances, followed by number of international goals; and their hometowns.

Goalkeepers:

  • Ethan Horvath (Luton Town, England; 8/0; Highlands Ranch, Colo.)

  • Sean Johnson (New York City F.C.; 10/0; Lilburn, Ga.)

  • Matt Turner (Arsenal, England; 20/0; Park Ridge, N.J.)

Defenders:

  • Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic, Scotland; 11/0; Southend-on-Sea, England)

  • Sergiño Dest (A.C. Milan, Italy; 19/2; Almere, Netherlands)

  • Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 29/3; Oak Hills, Calif.)

  • Shaq Moore (Nashville S.C.; 15/1; Powder Springs, Ga.)

  • Tim Ream (Fulham, England; 46/1; St. Louis)

  • Antonee Robinson (Fulham; 29/2; Liverpool, England)

  • Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany; 3/0; Lake Grove, N.Y.)

  • DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami; 75/0; Seattle)

  • Walker Zimmerman (Nashville S.C.; 33/3; Lawrenceville, Ga.)

Midfielders:

  • Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, England; 24/6; Medford, N.J.)

  • Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles F.C.; 53/2; Plano, Texas)

  • Tyler Adams (Leeds United; 32/1; Wappingers Falls, N.Y.)

  • Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo, Spain; 12/0; San Diego)

  • Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy; 37/9; Little Elm, Texas)

  • Yunus Musah (Valencia, Spain; 19/0; London)

  • Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 32/0; Pico Rivera, Calif.)

Forwards:

  • Jesús Ferreira (F.C. Dallas; 15/7; McKinney, Texas)

  • Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 49/11; Mercer Island, Wash.)

  • Christian Pulisic (Chelsea, England; 52/21; Hershey, Pa.)

  • Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, Germany; 14/4; Bedford, N.Y.)

  • Josh Sargent (Norwich City, England; 20/5; O’Fallon, Mo.)

  • Tim Weah (Lille, France; 25/3; Rosedale, N.Y.)

  • Haji Wright (Antalyaspor, Turkey; 3/1; Los Angeles)

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