This year’s Women’s World Cup is currently in the quarter-finals stage (at the time of writing, England is the only team to have made it to the semi-finals). There’s still plenty of action left, however, as the final won’t take place until July 7. Below, we’ll explain how to watch every Women’s World Cup fixture live, whether you’re in the US, the UK, Sweden, Spain, or anywhere else in the world.
This post will only recommend official sources. While popular sporting events are often available on shady streaming sites, we strongly advise against using these. To begin with, they usually only offer laggy, low-resolution video, and to make matters worse, unlicensed streams can be taken offline at any moment for copyright violation. As such, you might not even see who wins a given match. You can watch the Women’s World Cup for free anyway, meaning there’s no reason to use third-party streams.
How to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup abroad with a VPN
It’s very easy to access region-locked services with a VPN. Simply follow the steps below to unblock and stream the Women’s World Cup from anywhere:
This event will only be shown on geo-restricted platforms. This means that you’ll need a VPN to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup abroad.
- First of all, you’ll need a VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN although NordVPN and CyberGhost are both excellent, low-cost alternatives.
- Once you’ve signed up, download and install the software. There are usually several versions to choose from so make sure to get the right one for your device.
- Decide which geo-restricted service you’d like to unblock.
- Connect to a VPN server in the required country. You’d use a US server to access Fox Sports, for instance, or a British one the BBC iPlayer.
- Try playing a video on your chosen site. It should begin immediately but if not, clearing your cache and cookies, then refreshing the page will fix most problems.
Note that as these matches will be broadcast live, it’s important to make sure your VPN works well before kickoff. In doing so, you ensure you’ll have enough time to contact your VPN’s customer support team if anything goes wrong. This approach makes it less likely that you’ll miss any of what’s sure to be a very exciting round.
How to live stream the Women’s World Cup for free on UK TV
The BBC has exclusive broadcasting rights for this event in the UK. Accordingly, you can watch every remaining Women’s World Cup fixture live on BBC iPlayer. This platform is free to use, although you will have to create an account first. Don’t panic when you’re asked to enter a postal code as any British postal code will work.
British law requires you to have a TV license in order to stream anything as it’s being shown on traditional TV. Despite BBC iPlayer occasionally showing a popup letting you know about this requirement, it doesn’t actually verify whether or not you have a license.
BBC iPlayer is region-locked and only available in the UK. You can still access it from other countries by connecting to a British VPN server first, however. Don’t have a VPN yet? ExpressVPN comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, meaning you can stream the 2019 Women’s World Cup risk-free. If you’re unimpressed or simply don’t need a VPN afterwards, you can cancel and claim a full refund.
Where else can I stream the 2019 Women’s World Cup online?
24 countries entered this year’s Women’s World Cup, so understandably, there are international broadcasters for this event all over the world. Take a look below to find out which networks are showing the tournament in your country:
USA
Every Women’s World Cup game will be shown on Fox Sports. If your cable package includes FS1 and FS2, you’re in luck: just sign in to the Fox Sports website with your provider details and you’ll be able to stream the rest of the tournament live and free of charge.
Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to stop you watching just because you don’t have cable TV. DirecTV Now, fuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV all allow you to stream Fox Sports live, and best of all, these all come with a free trial period (one week for most, five days for PlayStation Vue). This means you can sign up, stream the remaining matches, and cancel to avoid being charged.
The above services are only available in the US. Americans can still access these platforms abroad by connecting to a US VPN server though.
Canada
TSN, RDS, and CTV are sharing coverage of the 2019 Women’s World Cup in Canada. TSN and RDS will broadcast every fixture live (in English and French, respectively), whereas CTV will only show Italy vs. the Netherlands, the semi-finals, and the final. If your cable package includes any of these channels, you can stream them online at no added cost.
There is a way to watch even if you don’t have cable. RDS and TSN both offer an online-only subscription for $4.99 CAD per day or $19.99 per month. Unfortunately, there’s no trial period, but as no other service is showing every remaining Women’s World Cup game, there aren’t really any other options.
TSN, CTV, and RDS are all geo-restricted. As such, you’ll have to either be in Canada or connected to one of your VPN’s Canadian servers to use them.
Australia
Australian soccer fans can watch every match on Optus Sport. Existing subscribers can start streaming right away, free of charge, but otherwise, you’ll have to pay $14.99 AUD per month as there’s no free trial.
SBS offers very similar coverage, except it won’t be showing the third-place playoff. All of SBS’ games can be watched completely free on both The World Game and the Freeview website. SBS also broadcasts highlights at 6 PM AEST every match day, and full-length replays of previous matches are made available shortly after they finish airing.
Optus Sport and SBS are geo-restricted, and as a result, you’ll need a VPN to access them from outside Australia.
France
The remaining matches can all be viewed on either TF1 or Canal+. While both networks are showing the final, TF1 has exclusive rights to France vs. USA. Canal+, meanwhile, will show every other fixture, including the third-place playoff.
You can live stream TF1 for free, although only French commentary is available and you will have to create an account first. Canal+, on the other hand, usually starts at €6.99 per month. There is a one-month trial, meaning you can sign up, watch the Women’s World Cup online, and simply cancel before you’re charged.
Both of these streaming platforms are geo-restricted. This means you’ll need a VPN to use them outside France.
Germany
It’s very easy to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup in Germany. Every match is available with German commentary on either Das Erste or ZDF, two channels which offer completely free live streams. If you’d prefer, you can stream these fixtures on DAZN Germany (€9.99 per month with a one-month trial), but as this platform has the exact same coverage, there’s really no reason to use it.
Das Erste, DAZN and ZDF are all region-locked. DAZN blocks most VPNs outright, but if you connect to a German VPN server, you should still be able to watch ZDF or Das Erste abroad.
Italy
These matches will be shown with Italian commentary on Rai Play and Sky Sports. Rai Play is free, and doesn’t even require you to create an account, but unfortunately, the Sky Sports website doesn’t offer any kind of live stream. Luckily, there is a workaround: Now TV Italia offers daily, weekly, and monthly Sky Sports passes for €7.99, €14.99, and €29.99, respectively.
The third-place playoffs and final are the only two remaining fixtures which won’t be on Rai Play. As such, you can watch most of the tournament for free and simply purchase a weekly Now TV daily pass for the final two games.
Rai Play and Sky Sports Italy are geo-restricted. As such, you’ll need a VPN to watch them abroad.
Other locations
If we haven’t mentioned your country above, don’t panic: the 2019 Women’s World Cup is airing in far too many regions to address them all individually. Instead, we’d recommend checking out the following list of FIFA Women’s World Cup broadcasters. Can’t find a broadcaster? Remember, you can access free streaming services from other countries (like the BBC iPlayer or Zattoo) wherever you are by using a VPN.
2019 Women’s World Cup: full schedule
Which teams are expected to do well?
The US Women’s soccer team is the current favorite to win, and it’s easy to see why: they’ve been a dominant force in their group, dismantling the Thai squad 13-0 earlier this month and consistently causing problems for their opponents. Keep an eye out for their star striker, Mal Pugh: she’s lightning fast, incredibly accurate, and dangerous at any range.
England’s squad has performed particularly well this time around, getting through the round of sixteen without conceding a single goal. Additionally, they’ve frequently scored two or more goals against difficult teams like Norway and Japan. If they’re paired with the Netherlands or Italy in the semi-finals, England are in with a good chance of winning.