We’ll show you how to watch Russia v Croatia online for free by live streaming official World Cup coverage wherever you are located. We’ll also cover how to live stream any other 2018 World Cup game free of charge.

How to watch Russia v Croatia online for free

In another surprise win, hosts Russia managed to beat powerhouse Spain in the round of 16 and will face off against Croatia on July 7. The quater-final match will be played in Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi) at 7 PM BST (11 AM PST / 2 PM EST).

Thankfully, a ton of broadcasters all over the world have rights to air the matches on TV, and in most cases, you’ll be able to find a free live stream too. What’s more, commentary can be found in multiple languages, so you can listen in your native tongue. One problem is that many of these streams are geo-restricted and not accessible outside of the source region.

There is a solution to this in the form of a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN will mask your current IP address and replace it with one from a location of your choosing. This means you can make it appear that you’re in the same region as your desired streaming source. So you can watch the Russia v Croatia game from the UK, the US, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, and anywhere else in the world.

In this post, we’ll explain how to stream this and any other remaining World Cup 2018 games for free.

See also: Watch England v Sweden online free

Where to stream the FIFA World Cup 2018 for free

As mentioned, broadcasters all over the world have rights to show matches on TV and online. The language of the commentary will depend on which country the source is located in, with some countries having multiple sources and more than one language available. If you’re looking for English commentary, then here are some of the main free options:

  • US: Fox Sports (free with a cable or over-the-top provider subscription)
  • UK: BBC, ITV (both free)
  • Australia: SBS’ The World Game website (free)
  • Canada: TSN, CTV (both free with a cable subscription)

Technically, the US and Canada streams are only free if you already have a cable subscription which means you’re likely already a resident of the respective country. If you’re outside of one of those countries, your best bet would be to access a UK or Australia stream.

The UK streams do stipulate that you have a UK TV license. This isn’t enforced, but regardless, a better option might be to go for The World Game website based in Australia. All you need to access this is an Australian IP address which is easily achieved with a VPN (we’ll go into more detail on that below).

If you’re looking for commentary in Russian or Croatian, here are your main options:

  • Russia: VGTRK, Perviy Kanal, Match TV (Russian commentary)
  • Croatia: HRT (Croatian commentary)

We’ll delve into these further below, but if you want commentary in other languages, you may want to check out the official list of World Cup broadcasters. Although most of these streams will be geo-restricted, many will be easily accessible using a VPN.

The best VPN for the World Cup 2018: ExpressVPN

expressvpn world cup

Our first choice for streaming sports and any other content is ExpressVPN. It has a network of servers spanning 94 countries, with all servers optimized for speed. ExpressVPN is known for its ability to unblock geo-restricted content with ease.

This provider offers military-grade encryption and will never log your IP address. It has apps for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, and allows up to three simultaneous connections. Setup is super simple and 24/7 live chat is always on hand to help. All you need to do is select a subscription period (one, six, or twelve months) and submit your payment.

SPECIAL READER DEAL: Get three months free when you purchase a one-year plan. ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you could actually use it to watch the remaining World Cup games and get your cash back at the end.

Although ExpressVPN is our top choice, there are lots of other great providers out there. For example, NordVPN and CyberGhost both offer an excellent service and low prices.

How to watch the Russia v Croatia game with a VPN

Once you’ve settled on a provider, you can get set up within a matter of minutes. Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Purchase your plan and make a note of your new credentials.
  2. Download the appropriate app for your device and install.
  3. Run the app and log into the VPN service.
  4. Select a server in the same region as the streaming source you want to watch.
  5. Find your desired live stream on the source website or in the source app. You should be able to watch with no issues.

While setup is quick and simple, it’s best to do a test run prior to kickoff, in case you do have any issues.

How to watch Russia v Croatia with Russian or Croatian commentary

In Russia, several broadcaster have rights to show the tournament, including VGTRK, Perviy Kanal, Match TV. These will all be broadcasting games with Russian commentary.

Over in Croatia, you have just one option, HRT. This channel is completely free and games can be viewed on TV or online with Croatian commentary. If you want to catch this stream from outside of Croatia, then you can use a VPN to obtain a Croatian IP address.

Streaming the FIFA World Cup 2018 games with English commentary

We touched on some of the options available for English commentary earlier, but we’ll cover them in a bit more detail in this section.

UK World Cup streaming options

UK residents can enjoy free broadcasts of all World Cup matches via the BBC or ITV. These two networks are sharing rights to the games, so every game will be available on one or the other. The Russia v Croatia game will be airing on ITV 1 and online via ITV Hub. If you’re looking for an online stream of a game that’s airing on BBC One, you can access it through BBC iPlayer.

It is possible to watch these streams from outside of the UK, with a couple of caveats. First, you need to sign up with a UK postal, although this isn’t actually verified. Secondly, you should have a UK TV license, although, again, this rule doesn’t appear to be enforced. As such, using a VPN to get a UK IP address, both services are accessible.

BBC and ITV provide streams with English commentary.

US World Cup streaming options

If you’re in the US watching the game, then the only local broadcaster with rights to air FIFA World Cup 2018 matches with English commentary is Fox Sports. But to access this channel, you’ll need a subscription to a US cable provider or over-the-top provider. The latter includes Sling TV, fuboTV, or DirecTV.

The other option is to buy a Fox Sports soccer match pass for $19.99, although that’s a pretty hefty price to pay with only several games left. Instead, you could simply access a free, non-US live stream by using a VPN.

Canada World Cup streaming options

For Canadian residents, there are two streaming options offering English commentary: TSN and CTV. These both require credentials from a cable provider for access. If you don’t have these, TSN offers a monthly subscription for $24.99 (CAD), but this is quite a lot to pay at this late stage in the tournament. Given that there are free English–commentary live streams available, using a VPN to access one of these would be far more economical.

Australia World Cup streaming options

We talked about the free streams offered by SBS earlier, and indeed this is a great option for Australian residents. Simply go to The World Game website and access the stream. And if you’re outside Australia, you can use a VPN to get an Australian IP address.

Originally, paid channel, Optus Sports, was going to be showing all of the matches, with SBS having rights to a select few. However, due to issues with these streams, SBS now has rights to all games.

Free live streams in other languages

If you’re looking for a stream in another language, here are some of your options:

Bear in mind, if you need to use a VPN to access a stream, you should double-check that your chosen provider has servers in the source region.

Comparitech does not condone or encourage any copyright violation, including streaming video from pirated sources. Although VPNs can skirt geographical restrictions and mask the user’s identity, please consider the local laws, victims, and risks of piracy before downloading or streaming copyrighted material without permission.

Image credit: “Quarter-Finals” licensed under CC BY 2.0.