By far, the most popular sports event in the world is the FIFA World Cup. It is estimated that almost 25% of the world’s population will watch the tournament. In 2022, the World Cup will begin on Monday, Nov. 21st and run through Sunday, Dec. 18th. During that time, your favorite teams will play a portion of the 64 matches available. Football fans (soccer for those in the US) are more than ready for the World Cup to begin. This year you can watch every match on a host of channels around the world by using a VPN.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
| 4 |  | 9.0 | 110 | |
| 5 |  | 8.8 | 73 | |
VPN providers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN host servers in countries around the world. Connect to any location and watch matches as if you were sitting at a local coffee shop or your favorite internet cafe. That way, you can enjoy the specific coverage you want to see.
With over 250 million players in more than 200 countries, football is the most popular sport in the world. There is evidence that a version of the game was played in ancient Greece, prior to 400 BC. More modern versions of football are mentioned in English literature in the 12th century. Back then, the game was primarily played during major religious festivals like Christmas and Easter. The earliest reference to the game being called football goes back to 1314. It is clear to see why the sport has become so popular in almost all major countries in the world.
Here are some of the top streaming channels around the world in specific regions for World Cup 2022.
| Region | Channel | Subscription Required | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | ESPN, FOX, FS1, NBC | Yes | English |
| Telemundo | Yes | Spanish | |
| United Kingdom | BBC | No | English |
| ITV | Yes | English | |
| South America | Sky | Yes | Spanish |
| Africa | SuperSport | Yes | English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Sotho, Zulu |
| Australia | SBS | No | English |
| Canada | TSN | Yes | English |
| Denmark | DR Live | No | Danish |
| France | TF1 | Yes | French |
| Germany | ZDF | No | German |
| Sky | Yes | German | |
| Middle East/North Africa | BeIN Sports | Yes | Multiple |
| New Zealand | Sky | Yes | English |
| Norway | TV2 Sumo | Yes | Norwegian |
| Portugal | RTP | Yes | Portuguese |
| Russia | Match TV | Yes | Russian |
| Sweden | SVT Play | Yes | Swedish |
| Switzerland | SRF Zwei | No | German |
| Turkey | TRT Spor | Yes | Turkish |
Even with the game’s popularity, some countries focus on it more than others. Several countries have been strong in FIFA World Cup competitions for some time. Since the World Cup started in 1930, only 8 teams have won the championship. Those teams are Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, France, England, and Spain. If your favorite team is not in that list, you can still enjoy watching the matches. Let’s take a look at some of the strong teams in the World Cup this year.
The first team we will mention is Germany. The team won it all in 2014. Before that, the last time that Germany won the World Cup, the Berlin Wall had fallen 7 months prior, and the football team was still called West Germany. Despite the current strength of the team, their last championship win before winning it all in 2014 came in 1990. The German team is defending their World Cup championship, so you can bet they will be fierce competitors in this year’s matches.
Another highly favored team in the 2022 FIFA World Cup is Argentina. They will be an extremely difficult team to beat because the whole team is filled with very strong players. Just like the Olympics, professional players may play on their home country’s team. Fortunately for Argentina, the top footballer in the world (Lionel Messi) happens to be from Rosario (Argentina). Though one player does not guarantee the success of the whole team, it is hard to deny that he will have a huge effect on the game. As long as Messi is healthy, any team that plays Argentina will have a hard time winning.
That brings us to the Brazilian team. Though their last World Cup win came in 2002, it is hard to deny their dominance. To date, they are the most successful team in World Cup history. With five wins under their belt, Brazil will likely play very well, especially after losing to Belgium in the quarter-finals last time around.
This year, Qatar hosts the 2022 World Cup. It will mark the first time that any Arab country has hosted the event and only the second time the world cup has been held in Asia. Let’s take a look at the groupings going into the tournament.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | Spain | France | Argentina | Brazil | Germany | Belgium | Colombia |
| Egypt | Portugal | Peru | Croatia | Costa Rica | Korea | England | Japan |
| Saudi Arabia | Iran | Denmark | Iceland | Switzerland | Mexico | Tunisia | Poland |
| Uruguay | Morocco | Australia | Nigeria | Serbia | Sweden | Panama | Senegal |
Here is the schedule for the next few days of the 2022 World Cup.
| Monday, Nov. 21 | Tuesday, Nov. 22 |
|---|---|
| France v. Belgium | Croatia v. England |
For a full list of the games and times, you can see them here. Please note that the times we provide are in Eastern Standard Time (EST), so you may need to make the adjustments.
Let’s take a closer look at the best VPNs to stream the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
1. Best VPN for World Cup: ExpressVPN
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Even though there was a short time where sports were not available, many still love them. However, some do not care what the sports are anymore. If you are a sports fan, there are some excellent reasons why connecting to a VPN server with ExpressVPN would be a good idea. No matter what you want to watch or where you live, you will gain access to the various streaming services by connecting to one. Simply select the area of the sport or the specific coverage you want to see, and you can watch as you wish to.
No matter what type of device you prefer, ExpressVPN has you covered with apps or setup instructions for your favorite ones. That includes easy to use apps for Windows, Mac OSX, iPhone, iPad, Android, and Linux. If you are one of the people that want to protect their other devices, there are convenient setup guides to protect your router, smart TV, or even your favorite gaming console. Be sure to check the website so you can configure all of your devices to work with the right VPN server address.
The ExpressVPN team goes the extra mile to provide a feature rich service. They are also strong privacy advocates. They offer a $5,000 Future of Privacy scholarship every year to help promote privacy among college students. Just a quick example of their dedication to spreading the message of privacy around the world. Just as important, they offer a premium network to allow for fast connections. This makes the service an excellent choice for downloading and streaming. Test their network for yourself with their 30-day money-back guarantee. Sign up for 12 months and get 3 months free with our ExpressVPN deal.
2. Best VPN for World Cup: NordVPN
If you have watched the news and are a gamer, you may already know what kind of an effect a DDoS (Distributive Denial of Service) attack can have on you. Those types of attacks can spell trouble, no matter what game you are playing. The way to avoid them is to connect to a VPN server with NordVPN. Since they can lock you out of your game based on your current IP address, changing it will stop that from happening. Then, you should be able to play like normal.
If you are concerned about getting everything set up with NordVPN, you are in luck. While they have great how-to pages and guides to set everything up correctly, they still offer you their 24/7 support network. The website states that they will respond in 24 hours if you decide to email them. If you need a faster response, they give you the option of chatting with someone live. That is perfect for those pressing questions you may have.
3. Best VPN for World Cup: Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access hosts approximately 3300 servers located in more than 48 countries, and they make additions to that network, frequently. Even though they may not offer as many countries as some of its competitors, the multiple numbers of servers mean that the service is fast. In terms of the number of servers, they have one of the more extensive networks in the community. You can expect them to perform well and offer some excellent speeds, no matter which country or location you choose.
For all the gamers that are worried about lag, connecting to a VPN from Private Internet Access will help stop that from happening. The way that works is by rerouting your internet traffic to a shorter route. If your game goes through fewer spots, it will reduce the amount of lag that you encounter. That way, you can enjoy your favorite without worrying about whether you are going to wind up dead. From playing competitively to playing casually, Private Internet Access has you covered.
4. Best VPN for World Cup: CyberGhost
Gaming is a multi-million dollar business. That is why it’s crucial to connect to a VPN from CyberGhost. Sadly, most gamers focus on collecting things for their accounts instead of worrying about security. However, by connecting to a VPN, you can help to keep your achievements, time spent, finances, and even inventory safe from those that would want to cause you harm. By taking those steps and a few other safeguards, you can help ensure that your account stays secure.
While streaming is prevalent these days, it is not hard to get bored with some of the things available. The solution to boredom is to connect to a VPN server from CyberGhost. All you need to do is choose a server in a different region. When you do, you can gain access to a whole new library of content that you may never have seen before. That way, you can enjoy many new libraries and check out others when you are ready to move on.
5. Best VPN for World Cup: IPVanish
If you stream a lot of content, you may encounter what is known as library fatigue. That is when you have seen virtually all that you want to on a particular service. Since international services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have different libraries based on location, you will want to connect to a VPN server from IPVanish. That way, if you are bored with the current content available, you only have to change the VPN server region to be able to access others. Then, watch all you want.
IPVanish operates more than 1400 servers located in 75+ different places. While that may not be as many as some, you can bet that they have them where it counts. If you are not aware, encryption overhead can slow down your internet connection. However, we can tell you the service is fast and performs very well in the United States. That means that no matter what you choose to do while on the network, you won’t have to worry about issues with performance.
How to Use a VPN to Watch the World Cup Live
We will use ExpressVPN for the example of how to use a VPN service to watch the World Cup. First, you’ll want to download the VPN client. ExpressVPN offers client software for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Mobile users can download apps for iOS and Android. You can even use the ExpressVPN router app to secure every device on your network. It will send all your communications through the VPN which extends support to devices like game consoles and streaming boxes. They even have an app for Amazon Fire TV devices.
Now that you’ve had a chance to download and install the software, it’s time to connect. Launch the ExpressVPN client and select a server location. We’ll walk you through step by step using their Windows client. You can also watch on your favorite mobile or streaming device.
- ExpressVPN has a large network of servers all over the world. Select a country in which you want to watch coverage. Some popular choices include US, UK, and Germany.
- We recommend you select OpenVPN (TCP) or (UDP). For streaming videos from sites like YouTube, we use OpenVPN (UDP) because its faster than TCP. They also support PPTP, L2TP, and SSTP. We still recommend OpenVPN UDP for the best mix of speed and privacy protection.
- Click the big round connect button. After a few seconds, you’ll see the shield around the button turn green. There will also be a message letting you know the “VPN is ON”
- You now have an IP address in the USA, as far as anyone can tell online. As such, you can reach any site as if you were sitting there. The same would be true if you connected to a server in the UK or anywhere else in the world.
It is just that easy to do. Now that you have an IP address from an ExpressVPN server in the US, you can browse the Internet or watch the World Cup as if you were actually there. The same is true from any country, so connect to the UK for BBC coverage.
As you can probably tell by now, a good VPN opens access to content around the world. For use outside of the US, the service can help you unblock popular services like Netflix, Hulu, and Pandora. You still need an account for services like Netflix but the VPN will help you watch American shows and movies on Netflix as if you were physically there or in any other region you would like to access.
Stay current on the latest World Cup matches. You can refer to our schedule above for a list of upcoming match ups. Share this post with your friends so they can enjoy the World Cup from anywhere in the world with a VPN. You can also follow us @VPNFan for the latest deals and guides.