{"id":214156,"date":"2026-06-17T19:34:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/world-cup-today-cristiano-ronaldo-begins-historic-sixth-tournament-england-faces-croatia-news-9\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:34:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:34:41","slug":"world-cup-today-cristiano-ronaldo-begins-historic-sixth-tournament-england-faces-croatia-news-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/world-cup-today-cristiano-ronaldo-begins-historic-sixth-tournament-england-faces-croatia-news-9\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Today: Cristiano Ronaldo Begins Historic Sixth Tournament, England Faces Croatia – News 9"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2026 Griffin Media.<\/a><\/span> Privacy Policy<\/a><\/span>, Terms of Service<\/a><\/span>, Editorial Ethics Policy<\/a><\/span>, Legal Notices<\/a><\/span>, EEO Report<\/a><\/span>, Ad Choices<\/a><\/span>, Public Inspection File Contact<\/a><\/span>, KWTV Public Inspection File<\/a><\/span>, KSBI Public Inspection File<\/a><\/span>, Closed Captioning Assistance<\/a><\/span>, FCC Applications<\/a><\/span>, VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template)<\/a><\/span>
The group stage continues Wednesday with five matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including the highly anticipated World Cup debut of Cristiano Ronaldo and a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal between England and Croatia.
Viewers with a TV antenna, or access to FOX through a smart TV, can watch 70 World Cup matches for free. The remaining matches will air on FS1. Spanish-language coverage is available on Telemundo and Universo, while streaming options include FOX One, the FOX Sports App, Peacock, YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV.
11 a.m. Portugal vs. DR Congo (Group K)
Houston, Texas
TV: FOX, Telemundo
All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo as the 41-year-old superstar begins what is expected to be his sixth and likely final World Cup appearance. Ronaldo joins Lionel Messi as the only players to compete in six World Cups.
Portugal enter the tournament as one of the favorites after another strong season from Bruno Fernandes, who broke the Premier League assist record. Standing in their way Wednesday is a DR Congo squad making its first World Cup appearance in 52 years after advancing through the intercontinental playoffs.
3 p.m. England vs. Croatia (Group L)
Arlington, Texas
TV: FOX, Telemundo
One of Wednesday\u2019s marquee matchups features a rematch of the 2018 World Cup semifinal. England are among the favorites to win the tournament after cruising through qualifying without conceding a goal.
Croatia, meanwhile, are seeking a third consecutive trip to the World Cup semifinals behind veteran midfielder Luka Modric. The midfield battle between Modric and England star Declan Rice could determine the outcome.
England\u2019s attack is led by prolific striker Harry Kane, who enters the tournament in top form and remains one of the most dangerous finishers in world football.
6 p.m. Ghana vs. Panama (Group L)
Toronto, Canada
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Ghana and Panama open Group L play looking to secure three valuable points in what could become a tightly contested race for advancement.
9 p.m. Uzbekistan vs. Colombia (Group K)
Mexico City, Mexico
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Colombia begins its World Cup campaign against an Uzbekistan side making one of the biggest appearances in the nation\u2019s football history. Colombia will look to establish itself as a contender in Group K with a strong opening performance.
11 p.m. Austria vs. Jordan (Group J)
San Francisco Bay Area, California
TV: FS1, Telemundo
Austria and Jordan close out Wednesday\u2019s slate in a late-night Group J matchup. Austria enters as the favorite, while Jordan looks to continue its Cinderella run on the sport\u2019s biggest stage.
Wednesday\u2019s schedule features two of the tournament\u2019s biggest storylines early in group play: Ronaldo\u2019s pursuit of the one major trophy missing from his legendary career and England\u2019s quest to finally end decades of World Cup disappointment.
\u00a9 2026 Griffin Media.<\/a><\/span> Privacy Policy<\/a><\/span>, Terms of Service<\/a><\/span>, Editorial Ethics Policy<\/a><\/span>, Legal Notices<\/a><\/span>, EEO Report<\/a><\/span>, Ad Choices<\/a><\/span>, Public Inspection File Contact<\/a><\/span>, KWTV Public Inspection File<\/a><\/span>, KSBI Public Inspection File<\/a><\/span>, Closed Captioning Assistance<\/a><\/span>, FCC Applications<\/a><\/span>, VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template)<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2026 Griffin Media. Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Editorial Ethics Policy, Legal Notices, EEO Report, Ad Choices, Public Inspection File Contact, KWTV Public Inspection File, KSBI Public Inspection File, Closed Captioning Assistance, FCC Applications, VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template)The group stage continues Wednesday with five matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":214157,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-214156","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}