Whether you’re getting tired of hearing about it or loving every moment, the 2018 World Cup is coming to an end. There’s one very important game left, though: the World Cup final. In this post, we’ll explain how you can stream France vs. Croatia live and for free online. We’ll also be showing how a Virtual Private Network (VPN) can bypass regional restrictions and let you watch your chosen FIFA World Cup streams from the UK, the USA, France, Spain, Germany, or any other country in the world.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4 PM BST (8 AM PST / 11 AM EST) on July 15. The match is taking place at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, a venue with a capacity of 81,000. Expect to see a packed arena as nobody wants to miss this monumental game. Thanks to the increased number of broadcasters with streaming platforms, there’s no need for anyone to miss the action.
There are official World Cup broadcasters in over 100 different countries, so you have a huge number of options. Best of all, many are showing the World Cup final absolutely free. Our country-specific guides below will let you know where you can catch the action, no matter where you are in the world.
How to watch the World Cup final online
Although there are numerous foreign-language World Cup streams, it’s still easiest to find one that’s in English. Below, we’ve created a quick at-a-glance guide to the official sources in major English-speaking countries.
- US: Fox Sports
- Canada: TSN, CTV, RDS
- UK: BBC, ITV
- Australia: SBS, Optus Sport
Best VPN for the 2018 World Cup final: ExpressVPN
Remember that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) might not like that you’re streaming, and may try to throttle your connection. You can reduce the risk of this by obscuring your activities with ExpressVPN. This is a safe, secure VPN service that boasts above-average speeds and an extensive network of servers all over the world. Further, it’s capable of unblocking platforms many other VPNs can’t, including BBC iPlayer.
Signing up only takes a minute. First, decide how long you’d like to subscribe for: one, six, or twelve months. Next, complete the payment process. ExpressVPN has a 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning you can cancel at any point in the 30 days after purchase to receive a full refund. Why not trial the service by using it to stream the World Cup Final?
READER DEAL: Cut the price by 49% and get an additional three months free by signing up for ExpressVPN’s one-year plan.
How to stream the World Cup with a VPN
Never used a VPN before? No problem, it’s simple once you know how:
- Start by signing up for a suitable VPN. We’ve already mentioned ExpressVPN, but NordVPN and CyberGhost are strong low-cost alternatives.
- Download and install the appropriate version for your operating system.
- Decide which source you’d like to use.
- Connect to one of your VPN’s servers in the correct location (e.g. use a UK server for ITV Hub, or a US one for Fox Sports).
- Try loading content from your source. You shouldn’t see any errors and the video should load almost immediately.
Hopefully, it’s plain-sailing, but there could be issues. As such, it’s a good idea to test the streaming service with your VPN well before the match starts.
Streaming the World Cup final: free and paid options
How to stream the World Cup final in the UK
The BBC is sharing UK World Cup broadcasting rights with ITV. Until now, this meant that each game was only available on one of these networks or the other, but the World Cup final will be shown simultaneously on both BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub. If these sites are blocked in your workplace or university, you may be able to watch on TVPlayer.com, a site hosting legal live streams for BBC1 and ITV.
You should note that UK law requires you to have a TV license in order to watch live streams as they’re shown on TV. This is easily overlooked since of the above platforms, only BBC iPlayer makes it obvious. However, it only asks if you have one instead of actually verifying that you do.
Watching the FIFA World Cup in the US
The US has two networks showing the World Cup final: Telemundo Deportes and Fox Sports. These services allow you to follow along with the action in HD, as it happens, but you’ll be asked to sign in with your cable provider’s details first. Also, note that you’ll need NBC Universo as well as Telemundo Deportes to stream on Telemundo’s website. Fox Sports provides a few alternative options, allowing you to sign in with the following over-the-top services:
- DirecTV Now
- fuboTV
- Hulu with Live TV
- PlayStation Vue
- Sling TV
- YouTube TV
If you’re a US resident currently outside of America, you can still sign up and watch by using a VPN. However, as all the sources above check to see if your payment method is registered to a US address, it’s nearly impossible for foreigners to register.
You can watch France vs. Croatia through Kodi too, if you’d like. Be sure to use either the NBC Sports Live Extra or Fox Sports Go addons, though, instead of any third-party ones. Unofficial sports addons often use unlicensed streams and are prone to mid-match takedowns, so there’s really no point using them.
Telemundo Deportes will show the World Cup Final with Spanish commentary while Fox Sports will provide English coverage.
How to watch the 2018 World Cup in Canada
Canada has three networks which are showing the final World Cup final fixture: RDS, TSN, and CTV. Unfortunately, none of these are showing the game for free. Instead, you can choose to sign in with your cable provider’s details, or subscribe to RDS or TSN for $24.99 (CAD) a month.
With just one game left, however, we wouldn’t advise paying for a service. A better option would be to use a VPN to access a non-Canadian stream.
RDS will have French commentary but both TSN and CTV will have English coverage.
Streaming the World Cup final in Australia
While Optus Sport was originally going to be the exclusive broadcaster for many World Cup games, it found itself unable to provide consistent, reliable streams. As a result, it’s allowing SBS to broadcast the World Cup final, completely free on The World Game website.
No registration or payment is required to use this site. Additionally, it doesn’t just have live matches; there are also full, freely available replays of prior fixtures. The only requirement is an Australian IP address, which you can get by connecting your VPN to an Australian server.
How to watch France vs. Croatia from a competing country
France
The only way to watch every 2018 World Cup match until now was to sign up to beIN Sports Connect for €14 a month. That said, France vs. Croatia is the only match left, and you can watch it for free on TF1. Note that you’ll have to create an account before you can start streaming.
Various African countries are also getting French-language coverage. Soccer fans in places like Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, and Ghana can tune in by signing up for Canal+. There are several packages to choose from, but to watch the World Cup, you’ll have to pay the equivalent of around $18. If you don’t intend to keep watching once the World Cup is over, you might prefer to use a free source instead.
TF1, beIN Sports Connect, and Canal+ are all showing the World Cup final with French commentary.
Croatia
Croatia’s almost certainly regretting not having more comprehensive World Cup coverage now! You can watch the 2018 World Cup Final either on TV (HRT2) or stream it live from HRT’s website.
This site is free-to-use, although you will have to create an account first. As HRT geo-locks its content, you’ll also need a Croatian IP address. This is a simple matter to resolve: just connect your VPN to a Croatian server before attempting to stream anything.
HRT will provide Croatian-language commentary of the World Cup final.
2018 World Cup Final: How to watch from other countries
One of the advantages of having a worldwide tournament like the FIFA World Cup is that it’s easy to find live streams in your language. We’ve accounted for a few different languages below, but if yours isn’t mentioned, you can find suitable local sources in the list of official World Cup broadcasters.
- Arabic: BTV, KAN11, MAKAN 33
- Danish: DR
- German: ARD, ORF, SRG SSR, ZDF
- Italian: Mediaset
- Russian: Match TV, Perviy Kanal, VGTRK
- Spanish: Mediaset España Cuatro, Mediaset España Telecinco
- Bengali: BTV
The World Cup final only happens once every four years, so you’re not going to want to miss a second due to an unforeseen issue. For this reason, it’s worth taking a few minutes to test your VPN before the match starts. If there’s any lag, disconnection, or error messages, you’ll want plenty of time to contact your VPN’s customer support team and get the problem resolved.
Disclaimer: Comparitech does not condone or encourage any copyright violation, including streaming video from pirated sources. Although VPNs can skirt geographical restrictions and mask the user’s identity, please consider the local laws, victims, and risks of piracy before downloading or streaming copyrighted material without permission.
