The cult of the individual means the Ballon d’Or is almost as big as the World Cup itself these days, and with Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland now on the scene – and more than capable of eclipsing Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar – this summer’s tournament is full of alphas.
But the real ones already know the star of the series.
A VPN (virtual private network) will take your World Cup viewing experience to the next level, especially if you plan to spend time in the United States, where every match is safely locked behind a paywall.
Almost everywhere else, a significant number of games – or even all 104 – are streamed for free. Fans based in the UK, Australia and Ireland, for example, are some of the luckiest in the world, as they get free end-to-end coverage.
However, if you go abroad, this free coverage will be blocked… unless you have a VPN handy. Here’s our quick guide to watching the World Cup with a VPN.
What is a VPN?
A VPN is a very smart but inexpensive and easy-to-use tool that can redirect your Internet traffic to servers based almost anywhere in the world.
It may be helpful to think of them as Internet wormholes.
Use a VPN to connect to a UK-based server and your device will behave as if it were physically in the UK.
What do VPNs do?
One of the most popular use cases for VPNs is to bypass geo-restrictions.
Geo-restrictions are what broadcasters use to limit TV shows, movies and sports coverage to specific countries. This is why your Netflix library looks so different when you go on holiday abroad, and why local platforms – such as BBC iPlayer in the UK and SBS on Demand in Australia – don’t work anywhere else.
If you have a vacation or work trip planned that overlaps with the World Cup, geo-restrictions will prevent you from accessing your favorite tournament coverage.
A VPN will solve this problem. If you’re a Brit spending time abroad, for example, you won’t be able to access the BBC or ITV’s World Cup coverage. However, use a VPN to connect to a UK server and, like magic, you’ll be able to stream football just like you would at home.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
VPNs also encrypt your browsing data, making it much more difficult for cybercriminals, advertisers, and even governments to track your online activities. In some cases, they are even known to improve connection speeds.
Which World Cup broadcasters can VPNs unblock?
BBC iPlayer And ITVX in the United Kingdom, SBS on demand in Australia, and RTÉ Player In Ireland, every one of them is offering free coverage of the World Cup this summer, and in our extensive testing we managed to unblock them all.
Which VPNs work for streaming the World Cup?
Based on our extensive testing, we’re confident that each of the best VPNs on the market will help you unblock your World Cup stream, but the one we recommend above all is Norton VPN.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy abroad. We do not support or condone illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consumption of paid pirated content is not endorsed or endorsed by Future Publishing.
