WORLD CUP TV

GROUP A: ECUADOR VS. THE NETHERLANDS

Where: Khalifa International Stadium

Time: 8 a.m. PST

TV: Channel 11, Telemundo, Peacock

The buzz: A victory here would put the winning team in the driver’s seat. Though both teams had identical 2-0 scores in their opening victories, the games were totally different. Ecuador’s Enner Valencia scored three goals in the first 31 minutes against Qatar — the first was disallowed after a video review — and the South Americans (1-0) coasted from there, holding Qatar without a shot on goal. Senegal outshot the Dutch (1-0) in their game, but their goals came in the 84th minute and nine minutes into stoppage time. For a team with the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Virgil van Dijk, that’s not good enough. If the Dutch are going to need four saves from 6-foot-7 goalkeeper Andries Noppert every game, they’re not going far.

GROUP B: UNITED STATES VS. ENGLAND

Where: Al Bayt Stadium

Time: 11 a.m. PST

TV: Channel 11, Telemundo, Peacock Premium

The buzz: England’s opener was far and away the most dominant performance of the first round thus far. The stats are mind-boggling. Forget the six goals — none of which came from Harry Kane, the reigning World cup scoring champion — England had 79% possession, completed 89% of its 797 passes and scored six times on seven shots on goal. As with Qatar and Ecuador, it’s hard to know whether England (1-0) is really that good or Iran is really that bad. Either way, a U.S. defense that Wales put under pressure will be tested again. Offensively, the U.S. wasted a dominant first half against Wales, getting just one goal. It probably won’t get many chances against England, so it will have to do better.