Here’s how to watch all FIFA World Cup games
Hey guys, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming up, I know a lot of people are wondering how to watch the world cup without paying for yet another streaming subscription. US even if it’s hosting the Cup, decided that free broadcast is too much of a luxury. I realized it might actually be easier to virtually "travel" to countries that offer free coverage than to pay for another streaming service.
After doing some research, I figured I'd put together a list of the best options for watching the World Cup for free.
Here's a breakdown of some of the main free broadcasters:
| Country | Broadcaster | Account needed? | VPN server |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | BBC iPlayer | yes | UK VPN |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | ITVX | Yes | UK VPN |
| 🇦🇺 Australia | SBS On Demand | Yes | Australia VPN |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand | TVNZ+ | Yes | New Zeland VPN |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | Globo / Globoplay | Yes | Brazilian VPN |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | TVP Sport | No | Polish VPN |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | NOS | No | Dutch VPN |
So, how to watch the world cup?
The answer is VPN. Here’s a very useful comparison table where you can the best VPN for your needs.
Many of these services are only available in their home countries. For example, BBC iPlayer and ITVX are intended for UK viewers, while SBS On Demand is only available in Australia and TVNZ+ is only available in New Zealand.
Here's how to watch World Cup streams with a VPN:
- Sign up for a VPN provider.
- Connect to a server in the country of the broadcaster you want to use.
- Create a free account if required.
- Open the streaming platform and start watching.
For example:
- BBC iPlayer choose UK server
- SBS On Demand choose Australia server
- TVP sport choose Poland servers.
Pro tip – the closer the servers are to your country, the faster the stream will be.
Personally, SBS On Demand and TVNZ+ seem like the easiest options because they typically require only a free account and tend to be less aggressive about blocking VPNs than BBC iPlayer.
Additional tips:
- Test everything before kickoff. Don't wait until the opening match to find out whether your setup works.
- Clear cookies or use an incognito window so it’s harder to detect your location, from behavioral clues.
- Have a backup broadcaster ready in case one service experiences issues.
- Don’t use Free VPNs because they are super unreliable for streaming because their servers are heavily used and almost always blocked.
So that's what I've found so far. If you know any ways how to watch the world cup share them here.