Australia vs. Ireland 6 a.m. EDT on Fox: How to watch co-host country's 2023 World Cup opener
Get the coffee pot going early. Game No. 2 of the 2023 FIFA World Cup has an early start for soccer lovers in the U.S.
Co-host country Australia plays its opening match against Ireland at 6 a.m. EDT/3 a.m. PDT. It will be the second of three games you can watch Thursday on Fox: New Zealand vs. Norway play at 3 a.m. EDT, and Nigeria vs. Canada at 10:30 p.m. EDT.
Australia and Ireland are in Group B with Canada and Nigeria. Australia is the favorite and one of the teams expected to challenge to win the tournament – the team is ranked No. 5 in the World Cup field and #10 in the world – while Ireland is ranked No. 17 in the field (and No. 22 in the world).
The game is expected to be played before a record crowd. Australia lost the bronze medal game to the U.S. in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (played in 2021) and lost in the round of 16 game in a shootout to Norway. It's Ireland's World Cup debut, but the team upset Australia 3-2 in a friendly in Dublin in 2021.
Australia vs. Republic of Ireland start time
The Australia vs. Ireland match starts at 6 a.m. EDT/3 a.m. PDT at Stadium Australia, at Sydney Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia.
Australia Time Zone
That kickoff is 8 p.m. Australia Eastern Standard Time, which is 14 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, and 10 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), according to TimeandDate.com.
Australia vs. Ireland Channel
The game will air live on Fox, with Spanish-language broadcasts on Universo. You can also stream Fox on the Fox Sports app and FoxSports.com (Reminder: You need pay TV provider credentials to watch). Stream Spanish-language broadcasts on Peacock. Fox and Universo can be found on streaming subscription services such as DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, and YouTube TV.
The game will be replayed at 11 a.m. EST on Fox Sports 2, and again at 3 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Fox Soccer Plus. Replays will also be available in the FOX Sports app sometime after the matches have concluded.
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.
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