Broadcast rights in the US are owned by FOX (so FOX and FS1) and NBC Universal (so Telemundo, Universo) while in the UK it’s the usual suspects BBC and ITV. Didier Drogba will be a pundit for the BBC while Joe Cole, Eni Aluko, and Karen Carney will be part of the ITV crew.

GROUP C

Teams: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Current Blues: none
Former Blues: none
Future Blues(?): Edson Álvarez (MEX)

A group strangely devoid of any current or former Chelsea representation, though have been strongly linked with Ajax midfielder Edson Álvarez, so we can all root for El Tri. This group will of course also feature Messi’s Argentina and Lewandowski’s Poland, and the former will surely be among the favorites for the whole thing, as usual.

Tuesday, Nov 22 — Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia, 5am EST / 10.00 GMT; Mexico vs. Poland, 11am EST / 16.00 GMT
Saturday, Nov 26 — Poland vs. Saudi Arabia, 8am EST / 13.00 GMT; Argentina vs. Mexico, 2pm EST / 19.00 GMT
Wednesday, Nov 30 — Poland vs. Argentina, 2pm EST / 19.00 GMT; Saudi Arabia vs. Mexico, 2pm EST / 19.00 GMT

Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images

GROUP D

Teams: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
Current Blues: none
Former Blues: Andreas Christensen (DEN); Olivier Giroud (FRA)
Future Blues(?): Benjamin Pavard (FRA), Christopher Nkunku (FRA)

With N’Golo Kanté injured, and Jules Koundé and Ousmane Dembélé signing deals with Barcelona in the summer, Chelsea are without a player on one of the prohibitive favorites for this year’s title, France. The defending champions have a stacked squad, and even brought Big Game Oli Giroud back in, and we know that all he does is win win win, no matter what. Denmark should join France in getting out of this group, with Christensen recovering in time from a sprained ankle to make the team. (That injury has limited him to just 8 appearances so far this season.) Christopher Nkunku was not quite so lucky, with the RB Leipzig forward having to pull out after getting called-up initially. No secret medicals in this case!

Tuesday, Nov 22 — Denmark vs. Tunisia, 8am EST / 13.00 GMT; France vs. Australia, 2pm EST / 19.00 GMT
Saturday, Nov 26 — Tunisia vs. Australia, 5am EST / 10am GMT; France vs. Denmark, 11am EST / 16.00 GMT
Wednesday, Nov 30 — Australia vs. Denmark, 10am EST / 15.00 GMT; Tunisia vs. France, 10am EST / 15.00 GMT