Editor's note: until our picks model ships, only the marquee game carries a betting line, and that line comes straight from Vegas, not from us. Everything else here is about what is on and where to watch. The full slate with live tiles lives at watch.uristocrat.com.
Friday is a World Cup matchday, and a big one. Six group-stage games decide seeding and survival across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, headlined by France and Norway settling Group I at Gillette Stadium. Add a full 15-game MLB schedule and a WNBA tripleheader, and there is no shortage of options from mid-afternoon to past midnight.
Marquee: France vs Norway, Group I on the line (3:00 PM ET, FOX)
Both teams are already through to the round of 32, so this Group I closer is about seeding, not survival. They sit level on points, France on top by goal difference, which means a draw is enough for Les Bleus to win the group and Norway has to win outright to take first. The subplot writes itself. Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each scored four goals across their first two matches, and now they share a field at Gillette Stadium with the group on the line. This is Norway's first World Cup since 1998, and Haaland has spent two games proving the wait was worth it. France has more talent top to bottom. Norway has the bigger reason to push. Three o'clock on FOX, and it should be open.
Vegas line (DraftKings via ESPN): France -160, Norway +390, draw +360. Total goals 3.5.
The rest of the World Cup slate
- Spain vs Uruguay (8:00 PM ET, FOX). The Group H decider in Guadalajara. Spain hammered Saudi Arabia 4-0 and sit on top, while Uruguay has two draws and needs a result to be sure of moving on. The pick of the night session.
- Iraq vs Senegal (3:00 PM ET, FS1). The other Group I game, played at the same time in Toronto. With France and Norway already locked into the top two, Senegal and Iraq are chasing a long-shot third-place spot.
- Saudi Arabia vs Cape Verde (8:00 PM ET, FS1). The other Group H game, in Houston, with second place behind Spain still up for grabs.
- Belgium vs New Zealand (11:00 PM ET, FOX). Belgium closes its group as the heavy favorite at BC Place in Vancouver, with New Zealand enjoying the ride.
- Iran vs Egypt (11:00 PM ET, FS1). A late kickoff at Lumen Field in Seattle to close out the matchday on the West Coast.
Also tonight: MLB and the WNBA
- Dodgers at Padres (9:45 PM ET, Apple TV). The best baseball game of the night. Walker Buehler faces his old Dodgers club for the first time as a Padre, against Roki Sasaki, with Los Angeles nine games clear in the NL West.
- Reds at Pirates (6:40 PM ET). Paul Skenes takes the ball for Pittsburgh, the best young arm in baseball and reason enough to tune in early.
- Yankees at Red Sox (7:10 PM ET). New York and Boston at Fenway on national TV. The pitching is not the draw, but this rivalry has never needed one.
- Cubs at Brewers (7:45 PM ET, Apple TV). Jacob Misiorowski and his triple-digit fastball headline this NL Central matchup. Eleven more MLB games fill out the schedule.
- Dream at Valkyries (10:00 PM ET, ION). The nightcap of a WNBA tripleheader, with Golden State's expansion side hosting Atlanta. Mystics at Sun and Fire at Sky both tip at 7:30 PM ET.
The shape of the day is simple. World Cup drama in the afternoon and again at night, baseball filling everything in between, and the WNBA closing it out on the coast. Start with Mbappé and Haaland at three. Full slate and live tiles are at watch.uristocrat.com.
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