Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

How to watch World Cup 2022

World Cup 2022.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The 2022 World Cup is down to its final teams, with just a smattering of games before a champion emerges.

It might have been Brazil’s tournament to lose, before it ran into Croatia. (Nobody wins in a shootout, except that Croatia did, and it advanced.) But then Croatia ran into Argentina in the semifinals, and that was that. France has been pretty scary, too, though, handling England in the quarters to set up a showdown with Morocco in the semis.

Recommended Videos

Will Messi walk off with a win? Will something unexpected happen? Only one way to find out!

World Cup 2022.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Here’s how to watch the rest of the World Cup, which wraps up with the final on December 18.

How to stream World Cup 2022 for free

If you’re in the United States, you’ll be able to watch every match on either Fox or FS1. Both channels are available on every major streaming service in the United States, which is good, because it makes it super easy to stream World Cup 2022. And it’s a relatively even split, with 35 matches on Fox and 29 on FS1.

Here’s how things break down across the major services. (Note that broadcast availability — meaning Fox proper — may vary a little depending on where you live.)

  • FuboTV: Fox on broadcast; FS1 available on both plans.
  • Hulu With Live TV: Fox on broadcast; FS1 available as part of the sole plan.
  • YouTube TV: Fox on broadcast; FS1 available as part of the sole plan.
  • Sling TV: Fox on broadcast; FS1 is available on the Sling Blue plan.
  • DirecTV Stream: Fox on broadcast; FS1 available on all plans.

Note that all of those streaming services have free trials, so you can watch the World Cup for free so long as those trials are active.

Every match also will be available on the Fox Sports app. That method requires a subscription to some other service — cable, satellite, or a livestreaming service. (What it doesn’t necessarily require is for that subscription to actually be yours.)

World Cup 2022.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

How to watch the World Cup in 4K and HDR

And this may well be best-looking World Cup in history, thanks to your television. You’ll be able to watch World Cup 2022 in 4K resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) in a number of places.

Every match of this World Cup will be produced in 4K, Fox says. And you’ll be able to watch each match in 4K on the Fox Sports app, on YouTube TV, or on FuboTV. It’s worth noting — just for the purists out there — that unlike Fox’s Super Bowl LIV coverage, (which was actually a 1080p image that was upscaled to 4K), this time Fox says it will shoot and broadcast the matches in native 4K. The studio segments, however, will continue to be upscaled.

A 4K stream will give you the highest resolution, which makes details easier to see. 60 frames per second (fps) is another aspect of Fox’s 4K coverage and it’s the key to keeping that extra 4K detail visible even at times when the action gets really fast. Finally, HDR is going to make everything pop — the grass will look greener, team uniforms will look more colorful, and the ball might even be easier to see thanks to HDR’s higher contrast.

If you want to use the Fox Sports app to watch matches in 4K, you’ll need to have a subscription to a cable, satellite or streaming service.

FuboTV throws in 4K content for free. You don’t have to pay anything extra for that luxury.

YouTube TV, on the other hand, requires you to also subscribe to its 4K Plus add-on if you want any 4K content, live or otherwise. You get the first month free — which covers the entirety of the World Cup. The 4K Plus option then costs $10 a month for the first year, and doubles to $20 a month after that. And in addition to some live sports, you’ll also find a number of on-demand programs available in 4K.

Regardless of which method you use, you’ll absolutely want to watch the World Cup in 4K. It’s so much better.

World Cup 2022.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Watch the World Cup in Español

One could argue that American announcers just don’t have the same feel as what you’ll get in Spanish. (Or even UK English, for that matter.) Fortunately, you’ve got options to watch the World Cup in Spanish.

Telemundo Deportes is the exclusive Spanish-language home of the World Cup in the United States. It’ll broadcast all 64 matches live (56 on Telemundo, and eight on Universo because of simultaneous kickoffs), with Opening Ceremony coverage starting at 11 a.m. ET on Telemundo and Peacock.

Every match will have an hour of pre-game coverage. And with the initial group-stage matches, on-side coverage begins at 4 a.m. Eastern.

Full World Cup 2022 schedule

Just a few games left to go, now that we’ve made it through the Group State, and the Round of 16.

All times here are Eastern.

Semifinal matches

Tuesday, December 13

Argentina 3, Croatia 0

Wednesday, December 14

France 2, Morocco 0

Final matches

Saturday, December 17

Third-place match: Croatia 2, Morocco 1

Sunday, December 18

Final match: Argentina 2, France 2; Argentina wins 4-2 on penalties

Watch World Cup content for free on Tubi

Tubi — the free and ad-supported streaming service (aka “FAST”) owned by Fox, also will have a ton of World Cup content. All 64 games available there in on-demand fasion, free of charge. And Tubi also has a fair amount of other on-demand World Cup content, too. Shows include:

  • FIFA World Cup Classics
  • FIFA Women’s World Cup Classics
  • Gold Stars — The True Story
  • When the World Watched
  • Etched in Gold

They’re all available now, directly in the Tubi app. But Tubi also is rolling out a dedicated World Cup channel, appropriately (if a little awkwardly) called “FIFA World Cup FAST Channel.”

Phil Nickinson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
How to buy and listen to audiobooks on Spotify
The Audiobooks home screen on Spotify desktop.

We all know that Spotify is the biggest player in the music streaming business, but did you know that it's also the second-largest provider of audiobooks in the world after Amazon-owned Audible?

With more than 375,000 total titles to choose from, Spotify Premium members can listen to up to 15 hours of audiobooks per month as part of their paid service, from a catalog of 250,000 titles. But even if you're not a paying Spotify Premium customer, you can still buy from the full range of audiobooks through the Spotify web player, and it's easy to do. Here's how to buy and listen to audiobooks on Spotify.

Read more
Apple close to landing streaming rights for major soccer tourney, report says
A soccer pitch.

Apple is close to inking a deal with FIFA, soccer’s governing body, for the exclusive streaming rights to a revamped version of the Club World Cup, the New York Times reported on Monday.

As its name suggests, the Club World Cup brings together the best world’s best club teams, and while a version of the tournament has been going on for several decades, FIFA is gearing up to launch a bigger, month-long version next year in the U.S. involving 32 entrants in eight groups of four teams. And Apple reportedly wants in.

Read more
How many devices can you watch Sling TV on at once?
Sling TV on an iPhone.

Sling TV delivers a great streaming experience, with both on-demand and live streaming, making it easy for everyone in the house to find something to watch. However, if everyone in the house is trying to stream on Sling TV at the same time, you're going to run into problems.

Sling TV operates a bit differently than many popular streaming services. It has the option of two base plans to choose from, Sling Orange and Sling Blue.  They have fewer channels (separately and combined) than you’d find on other options, but they also cost less. You then couple them with add-ons (called “Extras” in Sling world) to fill out your plan. And the number of devices on which you can simultaneously watch Sling TV depends on how you put your plan together. Here’s how it breaks down.
Sling Orange
This one’s limited to just a single device at a time. And that includes any Extras you add to your service. There are half a dozen channels in Sling Orange that are not included in Sling Blue. Those channels are limited to a single device, even if you have the Sling Orange and Blue plans bundled together.
Sling Blue
This base plan gets you access to three streams at once. (You also get three streams if you subscribe to Sling Latino or Sling International.) Any Extras you add will be included in those three streams.
Sling Orange and Sling Blue
Subscribing to both tracks increases the number of devices on which you can watch Sling TV to four. But that really means that you get the three streams from Sling Blue, and the single stream from Sling Orange. Orange channels are still limited to one device and Blue channels are limited to three devices.

Read more