The Netherlands and Japan face off in their 2026 FIFA World Cup group opener at AT&T Stadium, and broadcasters across the globe have secured rights to air it - many of them free. Whether you are watching from Amsterdam, Tokyo, or somewhere in between, the broadcast landscape is broad enough that most viewers have a free-to-air option available. Those who do not can access international streams legally through a Virtual Private Network.
Where to Watch: Key Broadcast Rights by Region
Dutch viewers are well served by NOS, the national public broadcaster, which holds official rights and will air the event live across its free-to-air channels. Streaming is available simultaneously via NOS.nl and the NPO Start app - no subscription required.
In Japan, coverage is distributed across the Japan Consortium, which means multiple free-to-air options: NHK on terrestrial television, its streaming platform NHK+, and BS Premium 4K for high-definition viewing, plus commercial broadcasters Nippon TV and Fuji TV. Premium subscribers can also access coverage through DAZN Japan.
Elsewhere, the following broadcasters hold rights for their respective regions:
- Australia: SBS and SBS On Demand (free)
- Brazil: Globo, SBT, CazéTV, Globoplay, and several others
- Canada: TSN1, CTV, and streaming via TSN+, CTV App, and Crave
- France: M6, beIN Sports 1, and streaming via 6play and M6+
- Germany: ZDF (free-to-air) and MagentaTV
- Italy: RAI 1 (free-to-air), RaiPlay, and DAZN Italia
- Mexico: Canal 5 Televisa, Azteca 7, TUDN En Vivo, and ViX Mexico
- United Kingdom / Ireland: RTÉ for Irish viewers
- Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS CONNECT
- Singapore: Singtel TV GO and meWATCH
- New Zealand: TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ (free)
A full breakdown of broadcasters by country is included in the table further down this page.
Using a VPN to Access Streams Across Borders
Streaming platforms enforce geographic restrictions because broadcast rights are licensed on a country-by-country basis. A broadcaster in the Netherlands has paid for the right to distribute content to Dutch audiences - not to the world at large. When you attempt to access that stream from abroad, the platform reads your IP address, identifies your location, and blocks access accordingly.
A Virtual Private Network routes your internet traffic through a server in a country of your choosing, masking your actual IP address and replacing it with one that appears local to that country. From the platform's perspective, you are a viewer in the Netherlands, Germany, or wherever the server is located. This is the mechanism that allows a traveler abroad to watch their home broadcaster as if they had never left.
Reliable VPN providers for this purpose include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark. Setup is straightforward:
- Sign up for a provider and install the app on your device - most support phones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs.
- Connect to a server in the country whose broadcaster you want to access.
- Log in to the streaming platform and begin watching.
One important caveat: streaming platforms are aware of this practice, and some actively work to detect and block known VPN IP addresses. Paid VPN services rotate their server infrastructure regularly to stay ahead of these blocks. Free VPN services, by contrast, carry meaningful risks - they are more likely to be blocked, slower under load, and in some cases monetize user data in ways that undermine the privacy they claim to provide.
What to Know Before You Connect
VPN use for accessing geo-restricted content sits in a legal grey area in most countries. The technology itself is legal in the vast majority of jurisdictions. Whether using it to circumvent a streaming platform's terms of service constitutes a breach of contract with that platform is a separate question - and the practical consequences for individual users have historically been minimal. That said, it is worth reading the terms of your streaming subscription before connecting through a foreign server.
For travelers who simply want to watch their home broadcaster while abroad, the case is straightforward: you already hold the right to access that content, and a VPN is the technical means of exercising it across a border. For those accessing a foreign broadcaster's free-to-air stream - particularly one funded by public license fees - the ethical and legal picture is murkier, though enforcement against individual viewers remains essentially nonexistent.
Connection quality matters too. VPN traffic travels a longer route than a direct connection, which can introduce latency. For live streaming, choose a server geographically close to the broadcaster's home country and, where possible, connect over a wired network rather than Wi-Fi.
