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Thinking of using a VPN for the World Cup? Before you do, here's what every football fan should know.
Fifa World Cup began on Thursday(REUTERS)FIFA World Cup started off with a bang with a contest bewtween Mexico and South Africa on Friday where the co-hosts handed a 2-0 defeat to their rivals. With FIFA fever all around us, the question on everyone's mind is where do you watch the famous tournament and can you unlock any free ways to watch it if you use a VPN.
Where to watch FIFA World Cup in India?
Zee5 are the official broadcast and streaming partner for FIFA World Cup. In order to watch the match on TV you'll have to navigate to ZEE entertainment network and Zee 5 app. Howeever, you'll have to buy a separate ₹799 subscrption in order to start watching the match via the Zee 5 app.
The good news for Indians is that certain matches will be broadcast for free on DD Sports via the DD Free Dish. This includes the opening match, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the finals.
Should you use VPN to watch FIFA World Cup for free?
Before we jump into the answer on whether you should watch the FIFA World Cup using a VPN, let's first understand what a VPN is.
A Virtual Private Network or VPN is a service that encrypts connection between your device and the internet by acting as a digital tunnel where governments, internet service providers (ISPs) and hackers cannot monitor your online activities.
A VPN can not only improve your online privacy but also make it appear as though you're browsing from a different country.
Recently sports fans around the world have begun to use VPNs in order to bypass the geographical streaming restrictions in their country and watch the FIFA World Cup for free.
As per a Techradar report, services like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, SBS on Demand and RTE Player were able to bypass the geographical limitations for viewing the world cup.
While using a VPN itself isn't ilegal in India, bypassing banned website via the technology still is. Moreover, using a VPN to bypass regional restrictions or geo-blocks may violate a streaming platform's terms of service. Users should therefore be mindful of the legal and contractual implications before relying on a VPN to access content.
FIFA World Cup 2026 schedule and time in India:
You can check out the schedule and time for FIFA World Cup matches in India below.
| Fri, 12 Jun | 12:30 AM | Mexico vs South Africa | A | Mexico City Stadium |
| 07:30 AM | Korea Republic vs Czechia | A | Guadalajara Stadium | |
| Sat, 13 Jun | 12:30 AM | Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina | B | Toronto Stadium |
| 06:30 AM | USA vs Paraguay | D | Los Angeles Stadium | |
| Sun, 14 Jun | 12:30 AM | Qatar vs Switzerland | B | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium |
| 03:30 AM | Brazil vs Morocco | C | New York New Jersey Stadium | |
| 06:30 AM | Haiti vs Scotland | C | Boston Stadium | |
| 09:30 AM | Australia vs Türkiye | D | BC Place Vancouver | |
| 10:30 PM | Germany vs Curaçao | E | Houston Stadium | |
| Mon, 15 Jun | 01:30 AM | Netherlands vs Japan | F | Dallas Stadium |
| 04:30 AM | Côte d'Ivoire vs Ecuador | E | Philadelphia Stadium | |
| 07:30 AM | Sweden vs Tunisia | F | Estadio Monterrey | |
| 09:30 PM | Spain vs Cabo Verde | H | Atlanta Stadium | |
| Tue, 16 Jun | 12:30 AM | Belgium vs Egypt | G | Seattle Stadium |
| 03:30 AM | Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay | H | Miami Stadium | |
| 06:30 AM | IR Iran vs New Zealand | G | Los Angeles Stadium | |
| Wed, 17 Jun | 12:30 AM | France vs Senegal | I | New York New Jersey Stadium |
| 03:30 AM | Iraq vs Norway | I | Boston Stadium | |
| 06:30 AM | Argentina vs Algeria | J | Kansas City Stadium | |
| 09:30 AM | Austria vs Jordan | J | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium | |
| 10:30 PM | Portugal vs Congo DR | K | Houston Stadium | |
| Thu, 18 Jun | 01:30 AM | England vs Croatia | L | Dallas Stadium |
| 04:30 AM | Ghana vs Panama | L | Toronto Stadium | |
| 07:30 AM | Uzbekistan vs Colombia | K | Mexico City Stadium | |
| 09:30 PM | Czechia vs South Africa | A | Atlanta Stadium | |
| Fri, 19 Jun | 12:30 AM | Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina | B | Los Angeles Stadium |
| 03:30 AM | Canada vs Qatar | B | BC Place Vancouver | |
| 06:30 AM | Mexico vs Korea Republic | A | Guadalajara Stadium | |
| Sat, 20 Jun | 12:30 AM | USA vs Australia | D | Seattle Stadium |
| 03:30 AM | Scotland vs Morocco | C | Boston Stadium | |
| 06:00 AM | Brazil vs Haiti | C | Philadelphia Stadium | |
| 08:30 AM | Türkiye vs Paraguay | D | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium | |
| 10:30 PM | Netherlands vs Sweden | F | Houston Stadium | |
| Sun, 21 Jun | 01:30 AM | Germany vs Côte d'Ivoire | E | Toronto Stadium |
| 05:30 AM | Ecuador vs Curaçao | E | Kansas City Stadium | |
| 09:30 AM | Tunisia vs Japan | F | Estadio Monterrey | |
| 09:30 PM | Spain vs Saudi Arabia | H | Atlanta Stadium | |
| Mon, 22 Jun | 12:30 AM | Belgium vs IR Iran | G | Los Angeles Stadium |
| 03:30 AM | Uruguay vs Cabo Verde | H | Miami Stadium | |
| 06:30 AM | New Zealand vs Egypt | G | BC Place Vancouver | |
| 10:30 PM | Argentina vs Austria | J | Dallas Stadium | |
| Tue, 23 Jun | 02:30 AM | France vs Iraq | I | Philadelphia Stadium |
| 05:30 AM | Norway vs Senegal | I | New York New Jersey Stadium | |
| 08:30 AM | Jordan vs Algeria | J | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium | |
| 10:30 PM | Portugal vs Uzbekistan | K | Houston Stadium | |
| Wed, 24 Jun | 01:30 AM | England vs Ghana | L | Boston Stadium |
| 04:30 AM | Panama vs Croatia | L | Toronto Stadium | |
| 07:30 AM | Colombia vs Congo DR | K | Guadalajara Stadium | |
| Thu, 25 Jun | 12:30 AM | Switzerland vs Canada | B | BC Place Vancouver |
| 12:30 AM | Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Qatar | B | Seattle Stadium | |
| 03:30 AM | Morocco vs Haiti | C | Atlanta Stadium | |
| 03:30 AM | Scotland vs Brazil | C | Miami Stadium | |
| 06:30 AM | South Africa vs Korea Republic | A | Estadio Monterrey | |
| 06:30 AM | Czechia vs Mexico | A | Mexico City Stadium | |
| Fri, 26 Jun | 01:30 AM | Curaçao vs Côte d'Ivoire | E | Philadelphia Stadium |
| 01:30 AM | Ecuador vs Germany | E | New York New Jersey Stadium | |
| 04:30 AM | Tunisia vs Netherlands | F | Kansas City Stadium | |
| 04:30 AM | Japan vs Sweden | F | Dallas Stadium | |
| 07:30 AM | Türkiye vs USA | D | Los Angeles Stadium | |
| 07:30 AM | Paraguay vs Australia | D | San Francisco Bay Area Stadium | |
| Sat, 27 Jun | 12:30 AM | Norway vs France | I | Boston Stadium |
| 12:30 AM | Senegal vs Iraq | I | Toronto Stadium | |
| 05:30 AM | Cabo Verde vs Saudi Arabia | H | Houston Stadium | |
| 05:30 AM | Uruguay vs Spain | H | Guadalajara Stadium | |
| 08:30 AM | New Zealand vs Belgium | G | BC Place Vancouver | |
| 08:30 AM | Egypt vs IR Iran | G | Seattle Stadium | |
| Sun, 28 Jun | 02:30 AM | Panama vs England | L | New York New Jersey Stadium |
| 02:30 AM | Croatia vs Ghana | L | Philadelphia Stadium | |
| 05:00 AM | Colombia vs Portugal | K | Miami Stadium | |
| 05:00 AM | Congo DR vs Uzbekistan | K | Atlanta Stadium | |
| 07:30 AM | Algeria vs Austria | J | Kansas City Stadium | |
| 07:30 AM | Jordan vs Argentina | J | Dallas Stadium |
About the Author
Aman Gupta
Aman Gupta is a Digital Content Producer at LiveMint with over 3.5 years of experience covering the technology landscape. He specializes in artificial intelligence and consumer technology, reporting on everything from the ethical debates around AI models to shifts in the smartphone market. <br> His reporting is grounded in first-hand testing, independent analysis, and a focus on how technology impacts everyday users. He holds a PG Diploma in Radio and Television Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi (Class of 2022). <br> Outside the newsroom, he spends his time reading biographies, hunting for the perfect coffee beans, or planning his next trip. <br><br> You can find Aman on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-gupta-894180214">LinkedIn</a> and on X at <a href="https://x.com/nobugsfound">@nobugsfound</a>, or reach him via email at <a href="aman.gupta@htdigital.in">aman.gupta@htdigital.in</a>.
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