How to watch the FIFA World Cup live

The final round of group stage fixtures is here

After a gruelling qualification process lasting more than three years, the men’s football World Cup is here. 32 teams made it to Qatar for the first ever winter staging of the tournament, although the hosts are controversial for a variety of reasons. 

Holders France and five-time winners Brazil have already made it to the last 16, but plenty of high-profile nations aren’t yet assured of qualification. They include Argentina and Germany, with the latter gaining only one point from their first two matches.

Related Articles

We also shouldn’t rule out England, who made it to the semi-finals at Russia 2018 and will almost certainly make it through. But with only one and two points respectively, it’ll be difficult for Wales and USA to make it out of the group.

Here’s everything you need to know about watching the World Cup live – wherever you are in the world. 

0 of 8 minutes, 39 secondsVolume 0%

Which World Cup matches are on TV?

Every single World Cup game is being broadcast live in the US and UK. Here are all the matches from the final round of group stage fixtures: 

Tue 29 Nov

  • Ecuador vs Senegal – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • Netherlands vs Qatar – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • Iran vs USA – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT
  • Wales vs England – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT

Wed 30 Nov

  • Australia vs Denmark – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • Tunisia vs France – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • Poland vs Argentina – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT
  • Saudi Arabia vs Mexico – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT

Thu 1 Dec

  • Canada vs Morocco – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • Croatia vs Belgium – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • Costa Rica vs Germany – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT
  • Japan vs Spain – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT

Fri 2 Dec

  • Ghana vs Uruguay – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • South Korea vs Portugal – 7am PT/10am ET/3pm GMT 
  • Cameroon vs Brazil – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT
  • Serbia vs Switzerland – 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm GMT

When is the next USA match?

After two points from their opening two matches, the USA will probably need to beat Iran on Tuesday 29 November to go through. The match kicks off at 11am PT, 2pm ET or 7pm GMT. 

When is the next England match?

England only need a point against Wales to guarantee their place in the last 16, while a win will ensure top spot. The match also takes place at 11am PT, 2pm ET or 7pm GMT on Tuesday 29 November.

How to watch the World Cup in the US

Fox Sports has exclusive rights to the World Cup in the US, with matches broadcast on both the main Fox Channel and Fox Sports 1. 

It’s worth checking if these channels are already included in your cable subscription. If not, you can sign up via any of the following:

  • DirecTV – from $69.99 per month
  • Dish – from $69.99 per month 
  • FuboTV – from $69.99 per month 
  • Hulu – from $16.98 per month (with ads) or $23.98 per month (no ads) 
  • Sling – from $20 per month for first month, then $40 per month thereafter 
  • Vidgo – from $59.95 per month 

Some of these services offer a free trial, so it’s worth checking before you subscribe. But even so, paying for just one month will cover the whole tournament.  

All of the channels are available across all your devices, including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Roku, Android TV, Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and more.

How to watch the World Cup in the UK

In the UK, coverage of the World Cup is split between the BBC and ITV, with both showing the final. 

They’re free-to-air channels so don’t charge a subscription fee, although you’ll need a TV Licence to watch live. This costs £159 per year, but there’s no way to pay monthly. 

Both the BBC and ITV make live coverage widely available. Aside from on the TV, they’re also available online and on most mobile devices.

Outside of the live games, the BBC and ITV have lots of other coverage of the World Cup available to watch online. If that’s not enough, World Cup sponsors Hisense release 15-20 minute recap of the action and atmosphere every day of the tournament. Known as FIFA World Cup Daily, each episode is filmed from an official fan park in Qatar, and they’re available to watch free on the FIFA website.

Can you watch the World Cup in 4K?

In most cases, yes, although there are caveats. The BBC has confirmed that it’ll be showing all the live games broadcast on BBC One in 4K HDR – including via BBC iPlayer. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case for ITV, with no games shown in 4K.

Fox Sports will broadcast every game in 4K HDR on your TV, but that’s not what you’ll get when streaming. Instead, it’ll be an upscaled version of the 1080p feed – this will be better than regular 1080p, but still not proper 4K.

Of course, you’ll need a TV (or computer, or even phone) that’s capable of outputting at 4K to actually see the benefit.

How to watch the World Cup outside the US or UK

If you’re based outside the US or UK, it’s worth checking which broadcaster has the rights to the World cup in your country. For example, it’s SBS in Australia, TF1 and beIN Sports in France and Viacom18 across the Indian subcontinent. 

However, if you’re just visiting another country, accessing your UK-based subscription makes sense. 

Until the end of 2020, it was pretty easy for British viewers to watch TV while outside the UK when travelling to another EEA member state. The providers had to allow customers to view content by law but Brexit means that’s no longer the case. 

Now you’ll need to use a VPN (virtual private network) to set your location to the UK to unlock the content. The same applies to US viewers wanting to watch the Premier League beyond what is shown on American networks. 

Our pick is NordVPN, which also tops our overall  best VPN round-up due to its ease-of-use, security features and excellent value for money.