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World Cup 2018 Opening Ceremony: What time will it start and when will Robbie Williams feature?


The Russia World Cup 2018 is just hours away and the excitement is palpable. The teams are arriving, England have posed for their send-off picture and the first whistle is only days away.

Here's our guide on how to watch every second of the action. From this Thursday, we will be in for a feast of pretty much non-stop football.

Last December's draw put England in Group G with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama and the good news is that all three of the games have been scheduled at sociable times. You can hear the sighs of relief from office bosses all around the country.

The full World Cup 2018 fixture schedule is included below, with timings, venues and TV channels included.

All times BST. Local times are BST +2 apart from games played in Kaliningrad (+1), Samara (+3) and Ekaterinburg (+4).

Group stages

Thursday 14 June

Russia vs Saudi Arabia (Group A) - Moscow (Luzhniki) - 4pm - ITV

Friday 15 June

Egypt vs Uruguay (Group A) - Ekaterinburg - 1pm - BBC

Morocco vs Iran (Group B) - St Petersburg - 4pm - ITV

Portugal vs Spain (Group B) - Sochi - 7pm - BBC

Saturday 16 June

France vs Australia (Group C) - Kazan - 11am - BBC


What time is the World Cup opening ceremony?

The curtain for the 2018 World Cup will be raised on the tournament at 3:30pm (BST) on Thursday June 14, just 30 minutes before the opening game between Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Where is the opening ceremony?

At Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium which will also host the final.

There will also be a concert held in the city's famous Red Square concurrently with the opening ceremony.

What will the opening ceremony involve?

The event will focus on a series of musical acts, with Robbie Williams headlining.

Around 500 dancers, gymnasts and trampolinists will also be performing in an opening extravaganza that will pay homage to all things Russian.

Who will be performing with Robbie Williams?

England will have representation in the opening ceremony in the form of 90s pop icon, Robbie Williams.

Williams, who helped mastermind another edition of Soccer Aid for Unicef, will perform for the capacity crowd inside the Luzhniki Stadium and millions more watching on around the world.

“I’m so happy and excited to be going back to Russia for such a unique performance. I’ve done a lot in my career, and opening the FIFA World Cup to 80,000 football fans in the stadium and many millions all over the world is a boyhood dream,” said Williams.


It’s the eve of the World Cup 2018 with the eyes of the globe turning towards Russia.

It promises to be an action-packed, drama-filled month as 736 players from 32 nations arrive for a feast of football. Brazil, Spain and Germany arrive as tournament favourites with Gareth Southgate's England heading in with plenty of hope if not much expectation. They face Tunisia in Volgograd on Monday before taking on Panama and Belgium in Group G.

The Three Lions are settling in in Repino having arrived yesterday, with the tournament kicking off in earnest on Thursday afternoon when the hosts face Saudi Arabia.

We will have all the latest news, views, pictures and video direct from Russia throughout the day as we build up to the biggest football tournament in the world.

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The 2018 FIFA World Cup is right around the corner. In just about three days, the greatest soccer players on the planet will take center stage in Russia. The tournament returns to Europe for the first time since it was held in Germany in 2006, and there's no shortage of storylines. Is this the year that Lionel Messi finally wins the only major trophy missing in his list of career achievements? It's been a 32-year drought for Argentina. Like Messi, who was not born the last time the Albiceleste lifted the World Cup trophy, the window may be closing for Cristiano Ronaldo, who will try to power Portugal, the 2016 Euro winners, to another title. What about Neymar, who is recovering from a broken foot? Will he be fit to lead a promising Brazil team to its sixth World Cup title?

The hosts will get the party underway on June 14 against Saudi Arabia, and on July 15 a new world champion will be crowned.

Fox and Telemundo have the TV rights for this edition of the World Cup, which means games will air on Fox, Fox Sports 1 in English and on Telemundo and NBC Universo in Spanish. You can stream all World Cup games in English or Spanish on fuboTV (Try for free).

Below you'll find the complete schedule, scores and TV listings for this summer's tournament:

When: June 14 through July 15

June 14 through July 15 English-speaking TV: Fox and Fox Sports 1

Fox and Fox Sports 1 Spanish-speaking TV: Telemundo and NBC Universo

Telemundo and NBC Universo Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)

fuboTV (Try for free) Follow: CBS Sports App

Thursday, June 14

Russia vs. Saudi Arabia 11 a.m. ET Moscow Fox

Friday, June 15

Egypt vs. Uruguay 8 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg FS1 Morocco vs. Iran 11 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox Portugal vs. Spain 2 p.m. ET Sochi Fox

Saturday, June 16

France vs. Australia 6 a.m. ET Kazan FS1 Argentina vs. Iceland 10 a.m. ET Moscow Fox Peru vs. Denmark 12 p.m. ET Saransk FS1 Croatia vs. Nigeria 3 p.m. ET Kaliningrad FS1

Sunday, June 17

Costa Rica vs. Serbia 8 a.m. ET Samara Fox Germany vs. Mexico 11 a.m. ET Moscow FS1 Brazil vs. Switzerland 2 p.m. ET Rostov FS1

Monday, June 18

Sweden vs. South Korea 8 a.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod FS1 Belgium vs. Panama 11 a.m. ET Sochi FS1 Tunisia vs. England 2 p.m. ET Volgograd FS1

Tuesday, June 19

Poland vs. Senegal 8 a.m. ET Moscow FS1 Colombia vs. Japan 11 a.m. ET Saransk Fox Russia vs. Egypt 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox

Wednesday, June 20

Portugal vs. Morocco 8 a.m. ET Moscow FS1 Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia 11 a.m. ET Rostov Fox Iran vs. Spain 2 p.m. ET Kazan Fox

Thursday, June 21

France vs. Peru 8 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg FS1 Denmark vs. Australia 11 a.m. ET Samara Fox Argentina vs. Croatia 2 p.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod Fox

Friday, June 22

Brazil vs. Costa Rica 8 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg FS1 Nigeria vs. Iceland 11 a.m. ET Volgograd Fox Serbia vs. Switzerland 2 p.m. ET Kaliningrad Fox

Saturday, June 23

Belgium vs. Tunisia 8 a.m. ET Moscow Fox Germany vs. Sweden 11 a.m. ET Sochi Fox South Korea vs. Mexico 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox

Sunday, June 24

England vs. Panama 8 a.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod FS1 Japan vs. Senegal 11 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg Fox Poland vs. Colombia 2 p.m. ET Kazan Fox

Monday, June 25

Saudi Arabia vs. Egypt 10 a.m. ET Volgograd Fox/FS1 Uruguay vs. Russia 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox/FS1 Iran vs. Portugal 2 p.m. ET Saransk Fox/FS1 Spain vs. Morocco 2 p.m. ET Kaliningrad Fox/FS1

Tuesday, June 26

Australia vs. Peru 10 a.m. ET Sochi Fox/FS1 Denmark vs. France 10 a.m. ET Moscow Fox/FS1 Iceland vs. Croatia 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox/FS1 Nigeria vs. Argentina 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox/FS1

Wednesday, June 27

South Korea vs. Germany 10 a.m. ET Kazan Fox/FS1 Mexico vs. Sweden 10 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg Fox/FS1 Switzerland vs. Costa Rica 2 p.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod Fox/FS1 Serbia vs. Brazil 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox/FS1

Thursday, June 28

Japan vs. Poland 10 a.m. ET Volgograd Fox/FS1 Senegal vs. Colombia 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox/FS1 England vs. Belgium 2 p.m. ET Kaliningrad Fox/FS1 Panama vs. Tunisia 2 p.m. ET Saransk Fox/FS1

Saturday, June 30

Round of 16: Match 50: Group C winner vs. Group D runner-up 10 a.m. ET Kazan Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 49: Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up 2 p.m. ET Sochi Fox/FS1

Sunday, July 1

Round of 16: Match 51: Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up 10 a.m. ET Moscow Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 52: Group D winner vs. Group C runner-up 2 p.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod Fox/FS1

Monday, July 2

Round of 16: Match 53: Group E winner vs. Group F runner-up 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 54: Group G winner vs. Group H runner-up 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox/FS1

Tuesday, July 3

Round of 16: Match 55 (Group F winner vs. Group E runner-up) 10 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 56 (Group H winner vs. Group G runner-up) 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox/FS1

Friday, July 6

Quarterfinal: Match 57 (Match 49 winner vs. Match 50 winner) 10 a.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod FS1 Quarterfinal: Match 58 (Match 53 winner vs. Match 54 winner) 2 p.m. ET Kazan FS1

Saturday, July 7

Quarterfinal: Match 60 (Match 55 winner vs. Match 66 winner) 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox Quarterfinal: Match 59 (Match 51 winner vs. Match 52 winner) 2 p.m. ET Sochi Fox

Tuesday, July 10

Semifinal: Match 61 (Match 57 winner vs. Match 58 winner) 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox

Wednesday, July 11

Semifinal: Match 62 (Match 59 winner vs. Match 60 winner) 2 p.m. ET Moscow Fox

Saturday, July 14

Third-place match: Match 63 (Match 61 loser vs. Match 62 loser) 10 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox

Sunday, July 15

Final: Match 64 (Match 61 winner vs. Match 62 winner) 11 a.m. ET Moscow Fox

For a complete calendar of World Cup matches in Spanish, visit our sister site, CNET.com.

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