Want to watch every match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup on your telly? You’ve come to the right place – our World Cup TV guide has all the info you could possibly need to watch every game of the tournament on TV in Australia.
The World Cup will begin on June 14 in Russia, with the Socceroos beginning their campaign three days later on the 17th. There are two ways to watch the tournament on your telly in Australia. One of those is via free-to-air channel SBS, though this will not give you access to every game, and the other requires a paid subscription.
Previously, Optus Sports now had the exclusive rights to air all 64 matches. While SBS still had some rights, they were not able to show every fixture as they had done in the past.
But a torrent of complaints from Australian fans beset by constant playback errors and poor streaming quality put enormous pressure on Optus to forfeit their exclusive rights and, eventually, that’s just what they did.
They’d previously surrendered only the group stage matches to SBS, but now every single remaining match of the World Cup will be avaailable to watch on SBS as well.
So you know what games you can watch where, we’ve got you covered with The Roar‘s ultimate World Cup TV guide for both free-to-air and pay TV.
And to check out the exact kick-off times for every match of the tournament, head over to our 2018 World Cup schedule.
Unfortunately, you will not be able to watch every game without a paid subscription. However, there is a way to view some games for free.
SBS were set to broadcast 25 of the 64 World Cup games, including all Socceroos games. Included in SBS’s rights are the opening match of the entire tournament, the game of the day – every day, two quarter-final matchups, the semi-finals, and the final. On June 18, it was announced SBS would cover every match for the next 48 hours due to the failings of Optus and their streaming platform.
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 | |||
Knockout Stage | |||||
Knockout Stage | Sun 1 Jul | 12:00 AM | France vs Argentina | ||
Sun 1 Jul | 4:00 AM | Uruguay vs Portugal | |||
Mon 2 Jul | 12:00 AM | Spain vs Russia | |||
Mon 2 Jul | 4:00 AM | Croatia vs Denmark | |||
Tue 3 Jul | 12:00 AM | Brazil vs Mexico | |||
Tue 3 Jul | 4:00 AM | 1G vs 2H | |||
Wed 4 Jul | 12:00 AM | Sweden vs Switzerland | |||
Wed 4 Jul | 4:00 AM | 1H vs 2G | |||
Quarter-finals | |||||
Sat 7 Jul | 12:00 AM | W49 vs W50 | |||
Sat 7 Jul | 4:00 AM | W53 vs W54 | |||
Sun 8 Jul | 12:00 AM | W55 vs W56 | |||
Sun 8 Jul | 4:00 AM | W51 vs W52 | |||
Semi-finals | |||||
Wed 11 Jul | 4:00 AM | WQF1 vs WQF2 | |||
Thu 12 Jul | 4:00 AM | WQF3 vs WQF4 | |||
Third-placed playoff | |||||
Sun 15 Jul | 12:00 AM | LSF1 vs LSF2 | |||
World Cup final | |||||
Mon 16 Jul | 1:00 AM | WSF1 vs WSF2 |
If you can’t get to a TV to watch SBS, you can also catch their coverage online for free. The World Game app and official World Cup app will allow you to watch their 25 games, while if you miss any of these matches, you will be able to catch a free replay on SBS On Demand.
If you decide to watch SBS’s coverage, you’ll be able to listen to exclusive commentary from veteran football caller Martin Tyler. The channel’s coverage will also include the likes of Craig Foster, Lucy Zelic, David Zdrilic, David Basheer and Craig Moore.
If you are unable to get yourself in front of a screen and view these games, SBS is broadcasting all 64 games over their radio service.
Optus will show each and every 2018 World Cup match, as well as plenty of pre- and post-match coverage, interviews and features on their 24/7 football channel.
Their commentary team includes former Socceroos Mark Schwarzer, John Aloisi, Tony Popovic, Brett Emerton, Paul Okon, and more.
Of course, all this doesn’t come for free; in order to access all 64 matches, you will need to purchase an Optus Sport subscription.
If you already have an Optus 12-month or 24-month postpaid phone plan, select 12-month data-only plan, or select 24-month tablet plan, then Optus Sport is already included and you can watch every single World Cup game.
If you’re a current Optus user but don’t have any of these plans, you can add on Optus Sport for $14.99 per month.
Non-Optus customers can also independently subscribe to Optus Sport for $14.99 per month.
If you do not want to purchase any of these plans, you can access Optus Sport with a free two-week trial. Once this trial is over, however, you will need to pay for one of the above-mentioned services to watch all the 2018 World Cup games.
Optus Sport is accessible on Apple and Android devices, Fetch TV, Chromecast, and through your web browser.
As soon as more information about the Australian TV coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup comes to light, we’ll update this page with all the latest details.