On Sunday, France is playing Croatia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals, and if you want to watch the games without cable, we are here to help. Here’s how to watch France vs Croatia in the 2018 World Cup Finals online.
We’ve got instructions for how to watch in Australia, Canada, UK, and the USA, and where to look for information for other countries. You can also try to bypass geographic restrictions if you’re out of town and having issues.
Having Issues Bypassing Geographic Restrictions? Use a VPN
Whether you’re traveling from your home country or just live in a place that has ridiculous restrictions on what’s available, the solution to bypassing restrictions is always to use a VPN, which will make it appear as if you are coming from a different location. Our VPN picks are these:
ExpressVPN – this VPN choice is incredibly fast, easy to use, and has very user-friendly clients for every platform. StrongVPN – this VPN isn’t quite as user friendly, but is very fast and tends to be useful for bypassing restrictions because it’s not quite as well known.
In general, the way to bypass restrictions is to switch the VPN server to another country that has access to the website you’re trying to view. If it’s still blocked, try a different server. Both of the choices offer free trials, so you won’t have to pay for something that doesn’t work for you.
How to Watch The World Cup Final Online in the USA
In the USA, you can watch the World Cup Finals on Fox at 11AM EST on Sunday the 15th. If you have cable, just turn on your TV. If you are living in the US you can potentially watch it for free using a TV antenna, if the signal can be picked up in your area.
If You Have a Cable TV Login: Use the Fox Sports Go App on Almost Any Device
If you have a cable subscription (or access to your parent’s cable password) you’re all set: you can watch every game of the World Cup, including the Finals, on Fox Sports Go. There are apps for every platform offering HD streams of every game.
No Cable? Get a Cheap Streaming TV Login with Sling TV and Watch on Almost Any Device
If you don’t have a cable login, the cheapest and easiest way to get access is to sign up for Sling TV and get the Blue package for $25 a month, which includes FOX. We’re fans of Sling TV anyway, as it’s a great service that has really cheap plans that let you pick just the channels that matter to you.
Sling has apps for nearly every platform, so you can watch the games anywhere you want. Also, once you’ve got a Sling TV login, you can also use all of the Fox Sports Go apps, you’ll just have to login with your Sling credentials.
It’s worth noting that Sling only works in the US. You can technically use a VPN to bypass the restrictions and access Sling from any country, but then you run into the issue of paying for Sling, which requires a valid US credit card. We’ve read stories of people using Sling gift cards (which can easily be bought online) to create accounts from outside the US, but that’s not something that we’ve tested at all, and so we can’t recommend it.
How to Watch The World Cup Final Online via the BBC or ITV
The UK is interesting in that the BBC and ITV split the rights for the World Cup most years. The game should be available on either BBC One or ITV.
If you’re outside of the UK, you’re not going to be able to access the streams, because they are geographically restricted. You can use ExpressVPN or StrongVPN to bypass the restrictions and watch anyway by selecting a UK-based server, but it’s worth noting that at least the BBC makes efforts to block VPNs, so you’ll often need to switch servers, and it’s not a sure thing.
Whether you’re actually in the UK, or you’re using a VPN, you’ll need to use one of these links to watch online.
Watch ITV or BBC using TV Player Watch ITV live on the iTV website Watch BBC live using iPlayer (you will need a TV license)
TV Player seems to have a lot of channels for free, you’ll just need to register for a free account using a valid UK postcode (similar to a US zip code).
How to Watch The World Cup Final on Canadian TV
Bell Media Group—which owns CTV, TSN, and the French-language RDS—has the Canadian broadcast rights to the 2018 World Cup. This is a change from 2014, when the CBC held the rights and offered free streaming on their website.
You’ll be able to watch the World Cup Finals on either CTV or TSN, but you’re probably going to need a cable subscription to be able to watch it online.
And that’s about all there is to say. There’s not really a Canadian equivalent to Sling TV and services like it, so your only real option for watching every game is to pay for cable. Sorry, Canada.
How to Watch the World Cup Final via Australian TV
If you’re in Australia, you can watch the World Cup using SBS for free, and they not only have mobile apps, but they even have a VR app.
Note: while you can probably use a VPN to bypass restrictions and watch World Cup this way for free, if you live somewhere outside of Australia chances are good that the streaming bandwidth just won’t be fast enough.
World Cup Broadcasting Rights Around The World
International broadcast rights for the World Cup are a complex network, and it would take ages to outline how to watch every game in every country on earth. If you’re not in Canada, the UK, or the USA check out this list of 2018 broadcast rights holders. This will let you know which TV channel has the rights to air the games, and you can check out their websites for potential streaming options. Good luck, and enjoy the tourney!
Photo credit: topseller/Shutterstock.com
