The FIFA World Cup is here, and with it comes 64 games of football over the course of a month in the biggest sporting event on the planet. But which games can you watch on free-to-air TV in Australia?
Under a new broadcast deal for the World Cup, Optus are the official broadcaster of every game in Australia, with SBS also purchasing the rights to play a match every day of the tournament.
The deal states SBS will have the tournament opener, every Socceroos match and one per day thereafter as well as two of the quarter-finals, both semi-finals, the third-place play-off and of course the final.
Every match which isn’t available on SBS is live and exclusive on Optus Sport, while those games which are on SBS are simulcast with Optus.
Here are the matches which will be broadcast by SBS. Note matches in the third match-day will be picked in the lead-up, as they will aim to show those matches which have the biggest influence on who will proceed to the Round of 16.
UPDATE: Due to much publicised streaming issues plaguing Optus Sport, SBS was handed all additional group games to simulcast with Optus from June 18.
| Date | Kickoff time (AEST) | Fixture |
| Fri June 15 | 1:00 AM | Russia vs Saudi Arabia |
| Sat June 16 | 4:00 AM | Portugal vs Spain |
| Sat June 16 | 8:00 PM | Australia vs France |
| Mon June 18 | 1:00 AM | Germany vs Mexico |
| Mon June 18 | 10:00 PM | Sweden vs South Korea |
| Tue June 19 | 1:00 AM | Belgium vs Panama |
| Tue June 19 | 4:00 AM | Tunisia vs England |
| Tue June 19 | 10:00 PM | Colombia vs Japan |
| Wed June 20 | 1:00 AM | Poland vs Senegal |
| Wed June 20 | 4:00 AM | Russia vs Egypt |
| Wed 20 Jun | 10:00 PM | Portugal vs Morocco |
| Thu 21 Jun | 1:00 AM | Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia |
| Thu 21 Jun | 4:00 AM | Iran vs Spain |
| Thu 21 Jun | 10:00 PM | Denmark vs Australia |
| Fri 22 Jun | 1:00 AM | France vs Peru |
| Fri 22 Jun | 4:00 AM | Argentina vs Croatia |
| Fri 22 Jun | 10:00 PM | Brazil vs Costa Rica |
| Sat 23 Jun | 1:00 AM | Nigeria vs Iceland |
| Sat 23 Jun | 4:00 AM | Serbia vs Switzerland |
| Sat 23 Jun | 10:00 PM | Belgium vs Tunisia |
| Sun 24 Jun | 1:00 AM | South Korea vs Mexico |
| Sun 24 Jun | 4:00 AM | Germany vs Sweden |
| Sun 24 Jun | 10:00 PM | England vs Panama |
| Mon 25 Jun | 1:00 AM | Japan vs Senegal |
| Mon 25 Jun | 4:00 AM | Poland vs Colombia |
| Tue 26 Jun | 12:00 AM | Uruguay vs Russia |
| Tue 26 Jun | 12:00 AM | Saudi Arabia vs Egypt |
| Tue 26 Jun | 4:00 AM | Iran vs Portugal |
| Tue 26 Jun | 4:00 AM | Spain vs Morocco |
| Wed 27 Jun | 12:00 AM | Denmark vs France |
| Wed 27 Jun | 12:00 AM | Australia vs Peru |
| Wed 27 Jun | 4:00 AM | Nigeria vs Argentina |
| Wed 27 Jun | 4:00 AM | Iceland vs Croatia |
| Thu 28 Jun | 12:00 AM | Mexico vs Sweden |
| Thu 28 Jun | 12:00 AM | South Korea vs Germany |
| Thu 28 Jun | 4:00 AM | Serbia vs Brazil |
| Thu 28 Jun | 4:00 AM | Switzerland vs Costa Rica |
| Fri 29 Jun | 12:00 AM | Japan vs Poland |
| Fri 29 Jun | 12:00 AM | Senegal vs Colombia |
| Fri 29 Jun | 4:00 AM | Panama vs Tunisia |
| Fri 29 Jun | 4:00 AM | England vs Belgium |
| Round of 16 and Quarter-Final matches TBC – will be announced during the tournament | ||
| July 11 | Semi-final 1 | 4:00 AM |
| July 12 | Semi-final 2 | 4:00 AM |
| July 15 | Third-placed playoff | 12:00 AM |
| July 16 | World Cup final | 1:00 AM |
All times are in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).
SBS will generally start their coverage of each game between half an hour and an hour before kick-off, depending on who is playing and the nature of the game.
They will also replay their game of the day every day at 6:30am (AEST) and have a daily highlights show called “FIFA World Cup Today,” at 5:30pm (AEST).
To watch SBS games on TV, simply tune into channel 30 for high definition or 31 for standard definition.
If you want to watch their coverage online, you will need to use The World Game website or application, which is free to download and use on any device you may own.
Of course, if you want to watch any of the matches not listed above, you’ll need to head to Optus Sport, who will be streaming every game of the 2018 World Cup.
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