World Cup 2018: How To Watch The Matches Online And On TV

By Bill Chappell

Published June 13, 2018 at 3:31 PM CDT

People watch as the FIFA World Cup trophy is displayed in central Moscow. Russia is hosting soccer's mega-event for the next month — and people around the world will be watching matches live, online and on TV.

The World Cup starts on June 14 and runs through July 15. The games are in Russia, which is seven hours ahead of Eastern Time — meaning many of the matches will be held around midday in the U.S. So, how can you watch? We run down the options, online and broadcast:

On TV, the games will be on either Fox or Fox Sports 1 – on many days, the channels divide the matches. In Spanish, you can watch on both Telemundo and NBC Universo.

Online, you can stream the games live via FoxSports.com and TelemundoDeportes.com.

There are also streaming services like Hulu Live, YouTube TV, Fubo or Sony's PlayStation Vue service – all of which include some or all of the World Cup's U.S. carriers.

If you're watching on a mobile device, you can use iPhone and Android apps for Fox Sports, Fox Soccer Match Pass, or Telemundo Deportes en Vivo.

For international and other online options, you can also review the Reddit page for Soccer Streams – and there are also other sites that list video streams, such as Best Sports Streaming.

By tradition, the first match features the host country: Russia plays Saudi Arabia on Thursday, June 14, at 11 a.m. ET. The tournament then switches to a higher gear, holding three matches daily for the first 10 days. Then it ramps up to four matches daily from June 25-28 – the final days of the group phase.

The knockout phase begins on June 30, with the Round of 16. The semifinals are set for July 10 and 11 – both games are at 2 p.m. ET — with the finals scheduled for July 15, at 11 a.m. ET.