France vs. Belarus 2017 live stream: Start time, TV channel, and how to watch online

The job of World Cup qualification isn’t done yet for France, who sit in first place in Group A of UEFA qualifying, but have not yet secured themselves a spot in Russia next summer.

France have to beat Belarus in the Stade de France to advance to the world’s top tournament in 2018, and while that’s obviously not a bad situation, France would have preferred to have qualification wrapped up far before the final matchday of the group. But dropped points to Luxembourg and Sweden over the last two international match periods mean that they have just a one-point lead over the Swedes, and France has no room for error if they want to avoid a qualification playoff.

Of course, France has also dropped points to Belarus in qualifying, falling to a scoreless draw to Tuesday’s opponents 13 months ago. Fortunately for France, that was one of just five points that Belarus have earned, and they’ve lost six of eight qualifying matches since then, including getting outscored 8-1 in their last three matches, all losses. As long as France perform competently and treat Belarus seriously, there should be no problem. But one can never be sure in this sport.

As long as France win, they advance to the World Cup no matter what else happens in the group. If they draw, though, Sweden can gain that automatic spot instead with a win over the Netherlands, though there’s a fair amount of weight on that match as well, with the Netherlands having a slim chance of snagging a playoff spot over Sweden. That scenario requires that the Dutch win by at least seven goals, though, so it’s unlikely — but stranger things have happened in football.

Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local

Venue: Stade de France, Paris, France

TV: Fox Sports 2 (U.S. - English), Univision Deportes (U.S. - Spanish),

Online: Fox Soccer Match Pass, Fox Sports Go (U.S.),

Listings for more countries can be found at LiveSoccerTV.