The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts June 11 — and you don't need a cable subscription to watch a single minute of it. Between Fox, Telemundo, a handful of streaming platforms, and some genuinely free options, there's no excuse to miss a match.
Here's what you actually need to know, without the fluff.
What's on where — and what it'll cost you
In the United States, Fox holds the English-language rights to 70 games, including every knockout match from the Round of 16 to the Final. FS1 carries the other 34. On the Spanish-language side, Telemundo has 92 games and Universo handles the remaining 12.
No cable? These are your options:
- Fox One — Fox's own app, $20/month. Cleanest option if you only want English-language coverage in one place.
- Sling Select — $30/month. Gets you Fox and FS1. Cheapest route for both channels.
- Fubo — $45.99 for the first month, $55.99 after. Add $5/month for 4K streams if you've already got a different Fubo plan.
- DirecTV — The $50 MySports base pack covers Fox and FS1 for the first two months. The standard package climbs to $90/month, so read the fine print.
- YouTube TV — A $65 Sports package now exists, cheaper than the $83 standard plan, and it includes both Fox channels.
- Hulu — $90/month for Fox and FS1. Telemundo costs an extra $11.99/month on top of that, which is hard to justify.
- Peacock Premium — $10.99/month. This one's specifically for Spanish-language access via Telemundo and Universo.
If you want to sample before committing, Fubo offers a 7-day free trial and Hulu gives you three days. Neither gets you through the whole tournament, but they'll cover the opening matches while you decide.
The genuinely free routes
FIFA+ will stream select matches at no cost on its website. FIFA and YouTube also struck a deal giving rights holders the ability to stream the first 10 minutes of games — plus a limited number of full matches — on YouTube for free. Tubi, Fox's free streaming platform, will carry the June 11 Mexico vs. South Africa opener and the June 12 USA vs. Paraguay match without charge.
That's not enough to get you through 104 games, but it's a legitimate option for the early group stage if you're watching on a budget.
A VPN adds another layer of flexibility. Platforms in other countries — BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, France's TF1 Player, Ireland's RTÉ Player, Spain's RTVE Play — offer free World Cup streams that a streaming-friendly VPN can unlock from abroad. Proton VPN and TunnelBear are both free options worth trying, though compatibility can shift at any time.
The full group stage draw
The tournament spans 16 cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with 48 teams sorted into 12 groups of four. Here's the full draw:
- Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia
- Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
- Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Türkiye
- Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
- Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia
- Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
- Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
- Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway
- Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
- Group K: Portugal, Congo DR, Uzbekistan, Colombia
- Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
USA's three group stage fixtures: June 12 vs. Paraguay in Los Angeles, June 19 vs. Australia in Seattle, and June 25 vs. Türkiye back in Los Angeles. All three at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. ET — at least the scheduling is viewer-friendly.
The Final is July 19. That's 38 days of football. Start figuring out your streaming setup now, because the openers are closer than they look.
