It’s nearly that time of year again when football fans crowd around the TV or their mobile phones with ultimate pride in their eyes as they watch their beloved team take to the pitch. This is why the World Cup is such a widely anticipated tournament across the globe as it is such a powerful way of uniting a country.

Most children’s vivid memories of soccer begin when they watch their national team play. And this feeling of country pride carries on with them into adulthood and is passed on through generations. Making the love of the sport everlasting.

As the World Cup is a passionate tournament, you will find that most countries will accommodate for streaming the games live from Russia in order for the fans to join in with the action and feel like they are actually there. 

In this post we will take a look at the time scheduling per zones as well as what channels and applications you can used to watch the games on.

Match Schedules for Group Stages

As this year’s FIFA World Cup is held in Russia, you will find that the matches are aired at different times depending on what zone you are in. Common timings for these matches are:

  • 11AMBST/ 12PM CEST & SAST/ 1PM MSK/ 8PM AEST/ 6AM EDT/ 5AM CDT/ 6PM SGT
  • 1PM BST/ 2PM CEST & SAST/ 3PM MSK/ 10PM AEST/ 8AM EDT/ 7AM CDT/ 8PM SGT
  • 2PM BST/ 3PM CEST & SAST/ 4PM MSK/ 11PM AEST/ 9AM EDT/ 8AM CDT/ 9PM SGT
  • 3PM BST/ 4PM CEST & SAST/ 5PM MSK/ 12AM AEST/ 10AM EDT/ 9AM CDT/ 10PM SGT
  • 4PM BST/ 5PM CEST & SAST/ 6PM MSK/ 1AM AEST/ 11AM EDT/ 10AM CDT/ 11PM SGT
  • 5PM BST/ 6PM CEST & SAST/ 7PM MSK/ 2AM AEST/ 12PM EDT/ 11AM CDT/ 12AM SGT
  • 7PM BST/ 8PM CEST & SAST/ 9PM MSK/ 4AM AEST/ 2PM EDT/ 1PM CDT/ 2AM SGT
  • 8PM BST/ 9PM CEST & SAST/ 10PM MSK/ 5AM AEST/ 3PM EDT/ 2PM CDT/ 3AM SGT

To find out when your team is playing in their group stages see below. The times are in BST however, you can use the guide above to determine the right time for your zone.

Group A – Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay

  • 14/6/18 – 4PM Russia VS Saudi Arabia 
  • 15/6/18 – 1PM Egypt VS Uruguay
  • 19/6/18 – 7PM Russia VS Egypt 
  • 20/6/18 – 4PM Uruguay VS Saudi Arabia
  • 25/6/18 – 3PM Saudi Arabia VS Egypt
  • 25/6/18 – 3PM Uruguay VS Russia

Group B – Portugal, Spain, Morocco and Iran

  • 15/6/18 – 4PM Morocco VS Iran
  • 15/6/18 – 7PM Portugal VS Spain
  • 20/6/18 – 1PM Portugal VS Morocco
  • 20/6/18 – 7PM Iran VS Spain
  • 25/6/18 – 7PM Iran VS Portugal
  • 25/6/18 – 7PM Spain VS Morocco

Group C – France, Australia, Peru and Denmark

  • 16/6/18 – 11AM France VS Australia
  • 16/6/18 – 5PM Peru VS Denmark
  • 21/6/18 – 1PM Denmark VS Australia
  • 21/6/18 – 4PM France VS Peru
  • 26/6/18 – 3PM Australia VS Peru
  • 26/6/18 – 3PM Denmark VS France

Group D – Argentina, Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria

  • 16/6/18 – 2PM Argentina VS Iceland
  • 16/6/18 – 8PM Croatia VS Nigeria
  • 21/6/18 – 7PM Argentina VS Croatia
  • 22/6/18 – 4PM Nigeria VS Iceland
  • 26/6/18 – 7PM Nigeria VS Argentina
  • 26/6/18 – 7PM Iceland VS Croatia

Group E – Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia

  • 17/6/18 – 1PM Costa Rica VS Serbia
  • 17/6/18 – 7PM Brazil VS Switzerland
  • 22/6/18 – 1PM Brazil VS Costa Rica
  • 22/6/18 – 7PM Serbia VS Switzerland
  • 27/6/18 – 7PM Switzerland VS Costa Rica
  • 27/6/18 – 7PM Serbia VS Brazil

Group F – Germany, Mexico, Sweden and South Korea

  • 17/6/18 – 4PM Germany VS Mexico
  • 18/6/18 – 1PM Sweden VS South Korea
  • 23/6/18 – 4PM South Korea VS Mexico
  • 23/6/18 – 7PM Germany VS Sweden
  • 27/6/18 – 3PM South Korea VS Germany
  • 27/6/18 – 3PM Mexico VS Sweden

Group G – Belgium, Panama, Tunisia and England

  • 18/6/18 – 4PM Belgium VS Panama
  • 18/6/18 – 7PM Tunisia VS England
  • 23/6/18 – 1PM Belgium VS Tunisia
  • 24/6/18 – 1PM England VS Panama
  • 28/6/18 – 7PM England VS Belgium
  • 28/6/18 – 7PM Panama VS Tunisia 

Group H – Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan

  • 19/6/18 – 1PM Colombia VS Japan
  • 19/6/18 – 4PM Poland VS Senegal
  • 24/6/18 – 4PM Japan VS Senegal
  • 24/6/18 – 7PM Poland VS Colombia
  • 28/6/18 – 3PM Senegal VS Colombia
  • 28/6/18 – 3PM Japan VS Poland

Channels and Subscription Services

Now you know the times for the matches, it is now time to have a look at what platform you can watch them on. There are different channels across the world which offer a pay per view subscription for these live matches and there are also some which stream for free. To find a brief overview of some places you can watch the World Cup this year, then read below.

UK 

Three of the main places to watch the football in the UK is on BT Sport and BBC/ITV. BT Sport is a subscription service whereby you have to pay a monthly fee to watch their channels and have them unlocked with your service provider. However, the BBC and ITV will show the matches free of charge, all you need to do is have satellite TV. You can also watch both of these on your mobile phone or tablet for convenience.

USA

FOX Sports is a channel which you can add to your TV package in order to be able to watch the World Cup. You can also download the HULU application onto your smartphone or tablet and live stream it in the USA.

South America

In Brazil you will find that channels such as Sport TV and RedGlobo will be showing the cup. As well as this, Argentina will have it on Canal 9, El trece, TV Publica and America TV. The likes of Chile will see it on Canal 12, Megavision and TVN whereas Colombia’s is RCN TV and Caracol TV.

Asia

Japanese fans can catch the games on channels Fuji TV, NHK, NTV, TBS, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo. Other channels in Asia which will broadcast the tournament are: Sony Pictures, Fox Sports Asia, CCTV 5, CCTV, Trans TV and Match TV.  

Australia

Residents of Australia will be able to watch the tournament using the free-to-air channel SBS. However, some matches may not be covered, which makes most football fans look to a subscription with Optus Sport to view them all.

Europe

Europe covers a vast range of the larger teams this year, and here are just a few countries and the channels included. Belgium’s channels are RTBF and VRT, France only has one which is TF1, Germany is ARD and ZDF, Portugal’s only one is RTP and Spain will see it on Telecino and Cuatro. Also, host country Russia will be streaming it over on Match TV.

How will you watch the World Cup?

After looking into it further we can see that the FIFA 2018 World Cup is easy to watch from a variety of countries and platforms this year. Look us up on social media and tell us what games you are looking forward to the most in the groups stages and where you are watching them from!

This article was written by Loren Astbury for Soccer Box. Purchase all your World Cup 2018 football kits while supplies last and get ready for kick-off on the sporting event of the year.