World Cup Schedule 2014: Group Fixtures, Live Stream Info and Start Times

The best 32 national teams in the world have descended upon Brazil and the 2014 World Cup is set to begin play.

The host country Brazil will start things off against Croatia in Saturday's opener. Then two weeks of group-stage play begin between the countries as they decide who stays alive to represent the 16 in the knockout stage. Some contenders will breeze into the latter stages, while others will fizzle out early.

Let's break down the complete list of fixtures in group play and how to catch the action.

Date	Match	Group	Time (ET)	Venue
June 12	Brazil vs. Croatia	A	4 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 13	Mexico vs. Cameroon	A	12 p.m.	Natal
June 13	Spain vs. Netherlands	B	3 p.m.	Salvador
June 13	Chile vs. Australia	B	6 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 14	Colombia vs. Greece	C	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 14	Uruguay vs. Costa Rica	D	3 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 14	Ivory Coast vs. Japan	C	6 p.m.	Recife
June 14	England vs. Italy	D	6 p.m.	Manaus
June 15	Switzerland vs. Ecuador	E	12 p.m.	Brasilia
June 15	France vs. Honduras	E	3 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 15	Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina	F	6 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 16	Germany vs. Portugal	G	12 p.m.	Salvador
June 16	Iran vs. Nigeria	F	3 p.m.	Curitiba
June 16	Ghana vs. United States	G	6 p.m.	Natal
June 17	Belgium vs. Algeria	H	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 17	Brazil vs. Mexico	A	3 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 17	Russia vs. South Korea	H	6 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 18	Australia vs. Netherlands	B	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 18	Cameroon vs. Croatia	A	3 p.m.	Manaus
June 18	Spain vs. Chile	B	6 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 19	Colombia vs. Ivory Coast	C	12 p.m.	Brasilia
June 19	Uruguay vs. England	D	3 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 19	Greece vs. Japan	C	6 p.m.	Natal
June 20	Costa Rica vs. Italy	D	12 p.m.	Recife
June 20	Switzerland vs. France	E	3 p.m.	Salvador
June 20	Ecuador vs. Honduras	E	6 p.m.	Curitiba
June 21	Argentina vs. Iran	F	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 21	Germany vs. Ghana	G	3 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 21	Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Nigeria	F	6 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 22	South Korea vs. Algeria	H	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 22	United States vs. Portugal	G	3 p.m.	Manaus
June 22	Belgium vs. Russia	H	12 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 23	Australia vs. Spain	B	12 p.m.	Curitiba
June 23	Chile vs. Netherlands	B	12 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 23	Brazil vs. Cameroon	A	4 p.m.	Brasilia
June 23	Croatia vs. Mexico	A	4 p.m.	Recife
June 24	Italy vs. Uruguay	D	12 p.m.	Natal
June 24	Costa Rica vs. England	D	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 24	Japan vs. Colombia	C	4 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 24	Greece vs. Ivory Coast	C	4 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 25	Nigeria vs. Argentina	F	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 25	Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran	F	12 p.m.	Salvador
June 25	Honduras vs. Switzerland	E	4 p.m.	Manaus
June 25	France vs. Ecuador	E	4 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 26	United States vs. Germany	G	12 p.m.	Recife
June 26	Portugal vs. Ghana	G	12 p.m.	Brasilia
June 26	South Korea vs. Belgium	H	4 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 26	Algeria vs. Russia	H	4 p.m.	Curitiba

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Brazil	Spain	Colombia	Italy
Croatia	Netherlands	Greece	Uruguay
Mexico	Australia	Japan	England
Cameroon	Chile	Ivory Coast	Costa Rica
France	Argentina	Germany	Russia
Switzerland	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Portugal	Belgium
Honduras	Iran	United States	Algeria
Ecuador	Nigeria	Ghana	South Korea

Live Stream

All 2014 World Cup matches can be streamed live on WatchESPN.

Intriguing Group-Stage Fixtures

Spain vs. Netherlands

In a jaw-dropping twist of fate, 2010 World Cup finalists Spain and Netherlands will battle on the second day of the 2014 World Cup group stage.

The Spanish outlasted the Dutch in 2010 thanks to Andres Iniesta's game-winner in extra time. It resulted in them hoisting the World Cup trophy. Two years later, they built on their success with a 2012 European Championship victory.

Netherlands still has most of the gang together with Robin van Persie seemingly fit and Arjen Robben playing his best football, but it will take massive performances from the midfield and players like Wesley Sneijder to keep Spain from dominating possession throughout.

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Spain's attack could be depleted as dangerous striker Diego Costa has a hamstring tear and the 15-day recovery could keep him out of Brazil, per the Associated Press via Sports Illustrated. If the Atletico Madrid striker can't go, a player pegged to be a part of the first team will need to be replaced.

Buda Mendes/Getty Images

Spain won't be the only team in this one without a key player, except the Dutch already know. Key veteran midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has been ruled out of Brazil with a calf injury, per Daily Mail's John Drayton. His absence will only hinder the Netherlands' performance in the midfield. 

Regardless of injury, both squads will have 2010 on their minds—Spain trying to make it happen again and the Dutch trying to prevent history from repeating itself.

Brazil vs. Croatia

After years of anticipation and expectations that have likely felt like decades for many of Brazil's players, they will finally have a chance to put all of their preparation on display against Croatia in Saturday's opener.

Alex Grimm/Getty Images

It's not quite a cupcake match to start out with, however, as Croatia are ranked 20th in the FIFA world rankings and are expected by many to beat out Mexico and advance out of Group A along with Brazil.

Croatia have a great blend of star talent and chemistry that allow them to compete against any opponent. With Luka Modric manning the midfield, they attack their opponents and generate plenty of traffic into the attacking third.

However, they will be without a key player in that midfield as Niko Kranjcar—Modric's partner—has been ruled out after injuring his hamstring in Queens Park Rangers' late Premier League-clinching run, per The Sunday Times' Duncan Castles:

Croatia might be no match for a team of Brazil's caliber with or without Kranjcar. Neymar is coming into his own as a leader, and there are so many players around him—Oscar, Bernard, Paulinho, Marcelo, Fred, Hulk and more—that are capable of making an impact on the game in a big way.

On top of the sheer mismatch in talent, Brazil will be playing at home in front of a crowd that has been waiting for this moment for years. It will be a crazy environment—one that Croatia will be very fortunate to escape from with any points at all.