How to Watch England vs Iran for Free [World Cup 2022]

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to begin soon, with the first match in group B being England vs Iran (Kickoff time for England vs. Iran Group B match is set for 8 a.m. ET on Nov. 21). While in the past many football fans might have had to wait until after the match ended before being able to watch it, this year, with the help of a VPN, all of them will be able to watch it live without missing a second!

Starting off the World Cup on Monday at the Khalifa International Stadium, some were expecting Iran to be expelled from participating in the tournament completely due to allegations of the Asian nation supplying weapons to Russia for the ongoing war that most, if not all, of us must have heard about by now. 

Open Stadiums, a rights group, also questioned Iran’s participation in the event, claiming that a country that bans Iranian women from participating in football games shouldn’t be allowed to be in the World Cup. While it isn’t outright illegal for women to go to sporting events in Iran, it is extremely rare as they’re often denied entry. However, the team managed by Carlos Queiroz managed to avoid being banned and will be going against Gareth Southgate’s England team.

Speaking of England’s team, their right-back Kyle Walker has already admitted that Monday’s game might be just a little too early for him as he recovers from his groin surgery. Because of this, optimism is already low, and remembering what happened back in the 2020 Euro finale against Italy doesn’t help one bit with that.

How to Watch England vs Iran From Wherever You Want?

While England vs Iran will be shown on many different channels and streaming services around the world, not everyone has access to live cable or dish tv anymore. As for streaming services, many countries face geographical restrictions when it comes to which streaming services they have access to.

Fortunately, if this is the case with you, then worry not, as this problem can go away with the simple use of a VPN. For those unaware of what a VPN is and what it does, think of it like a shield protecting you from all outside malicious attackers. It encrypts your data to ensure it’s as secure as possible. What you should focus on for now, however, is a VPN’s ability to connect us to a server that’s located in a different area, city, or even country. 

Because of this, we’re able to connect to servers that are in places where the websites we’re trying to access aren’t blocked or banned, effectively bypassing the restriction.

Recommended VPNs

When it comes to streaming football matches live, two VPN services come to mind first and foremost as the best VPNs to use. 

NordVPN

What you’re looking for is something like NordVPN, which is the best VPN when it comes to speed and customer security. In addition, it also offers a variety of different servers, all located in different places around the world, to ensure no streaming service or website is blocked for you ever again.

To be specific, NordVPN has over 5000 servers that users can choose from. Additionally, its revolutionary NordLynx protocol allows users to experience quicker speeds and better encryption. As a matter of fact, NordVPN offers military-grade encryption, which means no one will be able to get your information from you without your information

SurfShark

On the other hand, if you don’t want to spend too much money, then there’s always the option to use SurfSharkVPN instead. SurfShark is another top-ranking VPN, with all the speed and privacy advantages that come with them, but there’s just one big difference. This VPN won’t burn a hole in your wallet because of how much cheaper it is when compared to similar-ranking VPN services.

Additionally, SurfShark isn’t lacking in the server aspect, either. Having over 3200 servers in over 100 countries means the potential for bypassing geographical restrictions is off the charts. Finally, the most important thing if you’re planning on using a third-party unofficial website to watch the match is that SurfShark comes with a built-in ad and malware blocker, meaning you won’t have to deal with those pesky pop-up ads.

How to Use a VPN to Watch England vs Iran

1. Find a good VPN that offers excellent speeds (to avoid buffering) and prioritizes customer security and privacy to combat all the pop-up ads you might have to face from the free streaming websites. We recommend either NordVPN or SurfShark.
2. Install the VPN application directly on the device you want to watch the match on or on your router if you want to watch it on a TV or device that doesn’t have a native application.
3. Connect to a server that is located somewhere the streaming website you’re trying to access isn’t blocked. Do this through the VPN app.
4. Go to the streaming website and start watching the match live with your family and friends

Recommended Free Live Stream Websites For England vs Iran

While there are hundreds of websites that will be streaming the England vs Iran match (and every other World Cup match), below are those that will be doing it for free without anyone having to sign up. Additionally, the server location that you should connect to (either for access to the website or for the best performance) is also mentioned.

• SRF ZWEI (Switzerland)
• Servus TV (Austria or Germany)
• Fox Sports (United States)

Simply connect to any server that’s located in the location mentioned next to the website using a VPN such as NordVPN or SurfShark, go to the website itself, and start watching the match live.

Where to Watch England vs Iran Without a VPN

If you want to watch the match without a VPN, then it’s a little tricky. While websites such as YouTube occasionally have users stream the matches in real-time, the risk of the video getting taken down due to copyright is always there (silly as it may be). Because of this, you might have to scramble around looking for another user who’s streaming the match in good quality, both video, and audio-wise.

Other websites that function in a similar fashion include

• Stream2Watch
• Fox Sports GO
• Live Soccer TV
• Peacock
• Telemundo (for Spanish speakers)

Additionally, Google updates the scorecard in real time along with any highlights that might have happened. While it gets the job done, it isn’t nearly as fun as watching the match itself happen in real time, and seeing as how the World Cup only comes once in four years, wouldn’t it be better to experience it to the fullest?

Finally, if you’re one of the few who still has cable TV, then multiple sports channels will be airing the match live as well. After all, that’s the classic way of watching sports matches live.

World Cup Matches Schedule

The FIFA World Cup officially starts on Monday, the 21st of November, and consists of 8 ‘groups’ of teams that will be competing amongst each other until the 2nd of December, after which the round of 16 will start. The schedule for the first 12 days(Monday, November 21st to Friday, December 2nd) is mentioned below.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

After this, the World Cup round of 16 will take place, followed by the quarter final, semifinal, and finally the final which will decide the victor of this year’s World Cup. Who it will be, however, remains to be seen.

What to Expect From England vs Iran

While the matchup between England and Iran is one to look forward to, the fact of the matter is that odds are in England’s favor, and the bets and money people put into this match also prove that. This isn’t a surprise, however, as Iran has never progressed past the group stage of the world cup in its current format. However, it seems the Iranian players seem to be more than ready, as shown by Alireza Jahanbakhsh who said 

 “It’s especially nice for me to play against England because I’ve played against most of these players.”

Former England striker Alan Smith also commented on this match, saying that while England might not be as ‘adventurous’ as other teams, they do have a solid base which gives them the edge against most teams. However, he also stated that the early matches in tournaments of such a grand scale are always tricky. This is because everyone expects one team to have an overwhelming victory when that isn’t always the case. His prediction was that while England will win, it’ll be only by a one-goal difference.

Gareth Southgate’s side on the other hand seems to not only be ready but also confident. With a squad full of premier league level talent, they’re expecting to easily power through the other team 

Regardless of the outcome of this match, the England team will later go on to clash against the USA team, while the Iran team will duke it out with Wales in the same Group B.