Extensive Studio Programming – Pre-Match Shows, SportsCenter, World Cup Tonight, ESPN FC World Cup Encore, and More
For additional info and resources, please visit the 2014 FIFA World Cup Media Kit which includes:
Photos | Videos | Bios | Schedules
ESPN will present all 64 matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup live and in high definition on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC during its comprehensive coverage of the month-long tournament in Brazil, June 12 – July 13. Extensive studio programming originating from the host country is also planned, including pre-match shows, halftime and post-match segments.
ESPN will televise 43 World Cup matches, while ESPN2 will air 11. All ESPN and ESPN2 matches (and surrounding studio programming) will be available via WatchESPN.
ABC will broadcast 10 matches (all available on WATCH ABC), beginning with Colombia vs. Greece at 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 14, live from Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte. The tournament will conclude on ABC with the title match Sunday, July 13, at 2:30 p.m. from Rio de Janeiro’s famed Estadio Do Maracana.
The opening match on Thursday, June 12, features host country and five-time World Cup champions Brazil vs. Croatia at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN and WatchESPN from Arena de Sao Paulo. The following day, Friday, June 13, at 3 p.m., ESPN will televise Spain vs. Netherlands, the much-anticipated rematch of the South Africa 2010 final (Spain won 1-0).
STUDIO PROGRAMMING – Pre-Match Shows, Halftime and Post-match Segments, SportsCenter, World Cup Tonight, ESPN FC World Cup Encore, and More:
ESPN’s coverage of every match will be preceded by a 30-minute pregame show, including teams walking onto the pitch, national anthems and ceremonial handshakes – all symbolic FIFA World Cup traditions. The 30-minute pre-match show, halftime and post-match segments will anchor the surround programming around each match presentation.
Special editions of SportsCenter will air between match telecasts on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. Additionally, ESPN’s flagship news and information program will follow all matches, except when a match precedes another live event on the network. On every match day, World Cup Tonight, ESPN’s definitive daily news, highlights and analysis program for the quadrennial event, will recap the day’s action. ESPN FC World Cup Encore – which will generally air for two hours on match days on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNEWS – will feature condensed versions of the best action in the day’s matches with analysis from ESPN FC pundits.
U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM:
The U.S. Men’s National Team, currently ranked No. 13 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, will kick-off its 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign against Ghana (ranked No. 37) on ESPN and WatchESPN on Monday, June 16, at 5:30 p.m. from the Estadio das Dunas in Natal. The U.S. team’s first round matches (all available on WatchESPN):
| Mon 6/16 | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Ghana vs. USA | Estadio das Dunas (Natal) |
| Sun 6/22 | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | USA vs. Portugal | Arena Amazonia (Manaus) |
| Thu 6/26 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | USA vs. Germany | Arena Pernambuco (Recife) |
2014 FIFA World Cup Groupings (World Rankings, February 2014)
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| 1 Brazil (9) | 1 Spain (1) | 1 Colombia (5) | 1 Uruguay (7) |
| 2 Croatia (16) | 2 Netherlands (10) | 2 Greece (12) | 2 Costa Rica (35) |
| 3 Mexico (21) | 3 Chile (14) | 3 Ivory Coast (23) | 3 England (15) |
| 4 Cameroon (46) | 4 Australia (53) | 4 Japan (50) | 4 Italy (8) |
| Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
| 1 Switzerland (6) | 1 Argentina (3) | 1 Germany (2) | 1 Belgium (11) |
| 2 Ecuador (24) | 2 Bosnia and Herzegovina (17) | 2 Portugal (4) | 2 Algeria (26) |
| 3 France (18) | 3 Iran (38) | 3 Ghana (37) | 3 Russia (22) |
| 4 Honduras (40) | 4 Nigeria (47) | 4 USA (13) | 4 Korea Republic (61) |
2014 WORLD CUP TV SCHEDULE – ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC
u All times EASTERN u Schedule is subject to change u ABC Sports broadcasts in italics
| Date | Time (ET) | Network | Match | Group | Site | Match # |
| Thu 6/12 | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Brazil vs. Croatia | A | Sao Paulo | 1 |
| Fri 6/13 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 | Mexico vs. Cameroon | A | Natal | 2 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Spain vs. Netherlands | B | Salvador | 3 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | Chile vs. Australia | B | Cuiaba | 4 | |
| Sat 6/14 | 11:30 a.m. | ABC | Colombia vs. Greece | C | Belo Horizonte | 5 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ABC | Uruguay vs. Costa Rica | D | Fortaleza | 7 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | England vs. Italy | D | Manaus | 8 | |
| 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | Ivory Coast vs. Japan | C | Recife | 6 | |
| Sun 6/15 | 11:30 a.m. | ABC | Switzerland vs. Ecuador | E | Brasilia | 9 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ABC | France vs. Honduras | E | Porto Alegre | 10 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina | F | Rio de Janeiro | 11 | |
| Mon 6/16 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Germany vs. Portugal | G | Salvador | 13 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Iran vs. Nigeria | F | Curitiba | 12 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Ghana vs. United States | G | Natal | 14 | |
| Tue 6/17 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Belgium vs. Algeria | H | Belo Horizonte | 15 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Brazil vs. Mexico | A | Fortaleza | 17 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Russia vs. South Korea | H | Cuiaba | 16 | |
| Wed 6/18 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Australia vs. Netherlands | B | Porto Alegre | 20 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Spain vs. Chile | B | Rio de Janeiro | 19 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Cameroon vs. Croatia | A | Manaus | 18 | |
| Thu 6/19 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Colombia vs. Ivory Coast | C | Brasilia | 21 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Uruguay vs. England | D | Sao Paulo | 23 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Japan vs. Greece | C | Natal | 22 | |
| Fri 6/20 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Italy vs. Costa Rica | D | Recife | 24 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Switzerland vs. France | E | Salvador | 25 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Honduras vs. Ecuador | E | Curitiba | 26 | |
| Sat 6/21 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Argentina vs. Iran | F | Belo Horizonte | 27 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ESPN | Germany vs. Ghana | G | Fortaleza | 29 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | Nigeria vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina | F | Cuiaba | 28 | |
| Sun 6/22 | 11:30 a.m. | ABC | Belgium vs. Russia | H | Rio de Janeiro | 31 |
| 2:30 p.m. | ABC | South Korea vs. Algeria | H | Porto Alegre | 32 | |
| 5:30 p.m. | ESPN | United States vs. Portugal | G | Manaus | 30 | |
| Mon 6/23 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Netherlands vs. Chile | B | Sao Paulo | 36 |
| 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 | Australia vs. Spain | B | Curitiba | 35 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Croatia vs. Mexico | A | Recife | 34 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | Cameroon vs. Brazil | A | Brasilia | 33 | |
| Tue 6/24 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Italy vs. Uruguay | D | Natal | 39 |
| 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 | Costa Rica vs. England | D | Belo Horizonte | 40 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Japan vs. Colombia | C | Cuiaba | 37 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | Greece vs. Ivory Coast | C | Fortaleza | 38 | |
| Wed 6/25 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Nigeria vs. Argentina | F | Porto Alegre | 43 |
| 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 | Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran | F | Salvador | 44 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Ecuador vs. France | E | Rio de Janeiro | 42 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | Honduras vs. Switzerland | E | Manaus | 41 | |
| Thu 6/26 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | United States vs. Germany | G | Recife | 45 |
| 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 | Portugal vs. Ghana | G | Brasilia | 46 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | South Korea vs. Belgium | H | Sao Paulo | 47 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | Algeria vs. Russia | H | Curitiba | 48 |
2nd Stage – Round of 16
| Date | Time (ET) | Network | Matchup | Site | Match # |
| Sat, Jun 28 | 11:30 a.m. | ABC | Brazil vs. Chile | Belo Horizonte | 49 |
| 3:30 p.m. | ABC | Colombia vs. Uruguay | Rio de Janeiro | 50 | |
| Sun, Jun 29 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Netherlands vs. Mexico | Fortaleza | 51 |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Costa Rica vs. Greece | Recife | 52 | |
| Mon, Jun 30 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | France vs. Nigeria | Brasilia | 53 |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Germany vs. Algeria
|
Porto Alegre | 54 | |
| Tue, Jul 1 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN | Argentina vs. Switzerland | Sao Paulo | 55 |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Belgium vs. United States | Salvador | 56 |
2nd Stage – Quarterfinals
| Date | Time (ET) | Network | Matchup | Site | Match # | |
| Fri 7/4 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 | Winners 53 vs. 54 | Rio de Janeiro | 58 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Winners 49 vs. 50 | Fortaleza | 57 | ||
| Sat 7/5 | 11:30 a.m. | ABC | Winners 55 vs. 56 | Brasilia | 60 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Winners 51 vs. 52 | Salvador | 59 |
2nd Stage – Semifinals
| Date | Time (ET) | Network | Matchup | Site | Match # | |
| Tue 7/8 | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Winners 57 vs. 58 | Belo Horizonte | 61 | |
| Wed 7/9 | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Winners 59 vs. 60 | Sao Paulo | 62 |
Third Place Match
| Sat 7/12 | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN | Losers – 61 vs. 62 | Brasilia | 63 |
2014 FIFA World Cup Title Match
| Sun 7/13 | 2:30 p.m. | ABC | Winners – 61 vs. 62 | Rio de Janeiro | 64 |
ESPN Inc.’s 2014 FIFA World Cup in the United States
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be ESPN’s eighth World Cup and most comprehensive presentation to date. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will combine to air all 64 matches live and in high definition (June 12 – July 13). All ESPN and ESPN2 games will be available on WatchESPN, while ABC matches will be available on WATCH ABC. ESPN3, ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network available in more than 85 million homes, will present matches live in multiple languages (other than English and Spanish).
ESPN’s presentation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup will include comprehensive news and information coverage of the month-long soccer showcase with renowned journalists reporting on the tournament and the host country of Brazil. Additional English-language coverage of the quadrennial event will total more than 90 hours of original programming and will include SportsCenter at the World Cup, a nightly World Cup Tonight program, ESPN FC World Cup Encore, a 30-minute pre-match show, halftime and post-match segments, as well as a World Cup-branded ESPN Films 30 for 30: Soccer Stories series, E:60 shows, and access-driven long-form storytelling features.
ESPN garnered more than 40 industry awards, including three Sports Emmys, for its presentation of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa – more accolades than any single event in the company’s history.
ESPN and Past FIFA World Cup Tournaments (Men’s):
South Africa 2010 – All 64 matches live and in high definition. All studio programming originated from South Africa
Germany ’06 – All 64 matches live and in high definition
Korea/Japan ’02 – 58 ESPN and ESPN2 matches live (six tape-delayed broadcasts on ABC)
France ’98 – ESPN 27, ESPN2 23 and ABC Sports 14 (all 64 matches live)
USA ’94 – ESPN, 41, and ABC, 11 (all 52 matches)
Mexico ’86 – ESPN, 15 matches (U.S. cable television rights)
Spain ’82 – ESPN, 7 matches
— 30 —
