World Cup Groups 2014: Fixtures, TV Schedule and Latest Odds

To steal from ESPN's most recent World Cup commercial, "every four years, the world has one time zone."

The World Cup transcends. It transcends work and school schedules, and really any other stupid commitment that might get in your way. It transcends whatever negative feelings some may have toward the sport. It transcends cultural differences, and for one month every four years, much of the world unites for the incomparable tournament. 

Missing any of the fixtures means missing a piece of sports history, so let's take a look at when and where to watch every pre-knockout stage match, along with a glance at the tournament odds and most compelling groups. 

Complete Group Play Schedule and Viewing Info

Date	Group A Fixture	Time	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
Date	Group B Fixture	Time	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
Date	Group C Fixture	Time (ET)	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
Date	Group D Fixture	Time (ET)	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
Date	Group E Fixture	Time (ET)	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
Date	Group F Fixture	Time (ET)	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
Date	Group G Fixture	Time (ET)	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
Date	Group H Fixture	Time (ET)	Venue	TV Info	Live Stream
June 12	Brazil vs. Croatia	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Sao Paulo	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 13	Mexico vs. Cameroon	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Natal	ITV1/ESPN2	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 17	Brazil vs. Mexico	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Fortaleza	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 18	Cameroon vs. Croatia	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Manaus	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 23	Cameroon vs. Brazil	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Brasilia	ITV(TBC)/ESPN2	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 23	Croatia vs. Mexico	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Recife	ITV(TBC)/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 13	Spain vs. Netherlands	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Salvador	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 13	Chile vs. Australia	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Cuiaba	ITV1/ESPN2	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 18	Spain vs. Chile	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Rio de Janeiro	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 18	Australia vs. Netherlands	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Porto Alegre	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 23	Australia vs. Spain	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Curitiba	ITV(TBC)/ESPN2	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 23	Netherlands vs. Chile	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Sao Paulo	ITV(TBC)/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 14	Colombia vs. Greece	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Belo Horizonte	BBC1/ABC	BBC Website/ABC Go
June 14	Ivory Coast vs. Japan	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Recife	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 19	Colombia vs. Ivory Coast	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Brasilia	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 19	Japan vs. Greece	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Natal	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 24	Japan vs. Colombia	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Cuiaba	BBC(TBC)/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 24	Greece vs. Ivory Coast	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Fortaleza	BBC(TBC)/ESPN2	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 14	Uruguay vs. Costa Rica	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Fortaleza	ITV1/ABC	ITV Website/ABC Go
June 14	England vs. Italy	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Manaus	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 19	Uruguay vs. England	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Sao Paulo	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 20	Italy vs. Costa Rica	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Recife	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 24	Italy vs. Uruguay	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Natal	ITV(TBC)/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 24	Costa Rica vs. England	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Belo Horizonte	ITV1/ESPN2	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 15	Switzerland vs. Ecuador	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Brasilia	ITV1/ABC	ITV Website/ABC Go
June 15	France vs. Honduras	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Porto Alegre	BBC1/ABC	BBC Website/ABC Go
June 20	Switzerland vs. France	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Salvador	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ ESPN Player
June 20	Honduras vs. Ecuador	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Curitiba	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ ESPN Player
June 25	Honduras vs. Switzerland	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Manaus	BBC(TBC)/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 25	Ecuador vs. France	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Rio de Janeiro	BBC(TBC)/ESPN2	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 15	Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Rio de Janeiro	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 16	Iran vs. Nigeria	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Curitiba	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 21	Argentina vs. Iran	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Belo Horizonte	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 21	Nigeria vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Cuiaba	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 25	Nigeria vs. Argentina	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Porto Alegre	ITV(TBC)/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 25	Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Salvador	ITV(TBC)/ESPN2	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 16	Germany vs. Portugal	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Salvador	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 16	Ghana vs. United States	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Natal	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 21	Germany vs. Ghana	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Fortaleza	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 22	United States vs. Portugal	8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET	Manaus	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 26	United States vs. Germany	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Recife	BBC(TBC)/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 26	Portugal vs. Ghana	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Brasilia	BBC(TBC)/ESPN2	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 17	Belgium vs. Algeria	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Belo Horizonte	ITV1/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 17	Russia vs. South Korea	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Cuiaba	BBC1/ESPN	BBC Website/ESPN Player
June 22	Belgium vs. Russia	11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET	Rio de Janeiro	BBC1/ABC	BBC Website/ABC Go
June 22	South Korea vs. Algeria	5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET	Porto Alegre	ITV1/ABC	ITV Website/ABC Go
June 26	South Korea vs. Belgium	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Sao Paulo	ITV(TBC)/ESPN	ITV Website/ESPN Player
June 26	Algeria vs. Russia	9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET	Curitiba	ITV(TBC)/ESPN2	ITV Website/ESPN Player

Note: Complete match schedule courtesy of FIFA.com

Latest Odds

Country	Odds
Brazil	3-1
Argentina	4-1
Germany	5-1
Spain	13-2
Belgium	13-1
Colombia	20-1
France	22-1
England	25-1
Italy	25-1
Netherlands	25-1
Uruguay	25-1
Portugal	30-1
Chile	40-1
Russia	75-1
Switzerland	100-1
Ecuador	120-1
Mexico	130-1
Japan	140-1
Ivory Coast	150-1
USA	160-1
Croatia	200-1
Bosnia and Herzegovina	210-1
Ghana	240-1
Greece	250-1
Nigeria	250-1
Korea Republic	400-1
Cameroon	600-1
Australia	650-1
Algeria	1000-1
Costa Rica	1000-1
Honduras	1000-1
Iran	1000-1

Note: Complete Odds courtesy of Vegas Insider

Most Compelling Groups

Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia

Since the spectacle moved to 24 teams in 1982, only once has there been a rematch of the World Cup final during the following tournament, which came in 1986 and 1990 when West Germany and Argentina met in back-to-back finals. It has never happened since the change to 32 teams in 1998. 

With this group, we'll be assured of history. 

Granted, Spain and Netherlands have both shown some weaknesses since the the 2010 final. La Roja lost to Croatia and needed penalties to beat Portugal during the 2012 Euro Cup (although they eventually wont the tournament) and were defeated soundly by Brazil in the 2013 Confederations Cup final. Oranje, meanwhile, were trounced in the same Euro Cup, losing to Denmark, Germany and Portugal. 

Still, it would be wrong to overlook either side. 

Brazilian legend Pele recently dubbed Spain as his country's biggest obstacle (along with Germany), while Marcelo, via SocialRMadrid and Goal.com's Alec Fenn, reiterated that statement. 

The Dutch, comparatively, romped through World Cup qualifying, going 5-1-0 by an aggregate score of 21-3 in 2013. 

Spain is still dripping with talented playmakers in the midfield, and the Netherlands still feature world-class attacking talents like Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. You are going to be hard-pressed to find a better group-stage match than this one. 

Oh, and one of them might not even make the knockout stages. Chile, led by Barcelona star Alexis Sanchez, is an extremely dangerous side, especially on South American soil. 

Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy

Group D features three very good teams with extensive World Cup history but also plenty of question marks. 

Uruguay's question mark—the health of Luis Suarez—is arguably the biggest of the tournament, but while the status of the reigning Premier League Player of the Year's knee could drastically shift this group, Oscar Tabarez's squad is plenty feared one way or another. 

England veteran Steven Gerrard, via The Guardian's Dominic Fifield, put it simply:

"

He is a fighter and come maybe the first or the second game in the World Cup, I am sure he will be ready and raring to go. But it’s not just all about Luis. Obviously he is outstanding but they’ve got other good players and a very good team, so we’ll look at different ways and options of how to deal with that and counteract that.

"

Indeed, the presence of Edinson Cavani (and possibly 2010 Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan) should help the Charruas remain dangerous up front, while being in South America will also prove to be beneficial. 

Italy, the favorite to take the group if Suarez is unable to make an impact, is coming off a dreadful 2010 showing. However, the Azzurri have experienced difference-makers in Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi, and they've looked better on the international level since the hiring of Cesare Prandelli.

Then you have England. The Three Lions have a lot of youth on the roster but are undeniably talented. 

All three squads, who have combined for seven World Cup titles, are easily among the best 16 nations in the world, but they won't all be advancing to the Round of 16 for the knockout stages. 

Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA

Let's start at the top. 

Germany is the deepest team in the world, as most other countries would gladly take Joachim Low's reserves, while Portgual features the reigning Ballon d'Or winner in Cristiano Ronaldo, a player capable of taking over a game by himself. 

On the "bottom," we have Ghana and United States, the unlikeliest of rivals. Ghana, an extremely physical side that is dangerous on the attack, have made it out of the group stages the last two tournaments, eliminating the Red, White and Blue both times. 

"I didn't even think about Germany and Portugal," midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah told Goal.com's Kent Mensah. "What came into my mind was, 'These USA people again?'"

Although Jurgen Klinsmann made headlines by not selecting American legend Landon Donovan to the squad, he still has an extremely talented midfield led by Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey and had his team playing extremely well during World Cup qualifying. 

Other than Germany failing to advance, there can be no surprises from this group. All four squads are talented enough to make a deep run in Brazil, entrenching this as the unequivocal Group of Death.