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How to watch World Cup 2022

Phil Nickinson
By

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.

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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.

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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.”

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Phil Nickinson
Phil Nickinson
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