How to watch Euro 2020 for free — live stream, TV schedule, groups and more

After what seems an eternity, Euro 2020 is finally here. 

Technically, it should be called Euro 2021 of course, but while this festival of football (or spectacle of soccer, if you’re in the U.S.) may be taking place a year late due to Covid, that’s only heightened our anticipation for what should be a fantastic tournament.

The good news is that you can watch it all for free with a Euro 2020 live stream. Scroll down for full details of when and where you can watch it all wherever you are.

Who’s going to win? Well, it’s hard to see past Belgium, the world’s best team right now, but World Champions France, Euro 2016 winners Portugal and the always-dangerous Germany, Italy and Spain will all feel they have a good chance, too.

And then there’s England: they over-performed in reaching the last four of World Cup 2018, but would arguably be falling short if they didn’t equal that here. Gareth Southgate has built a young team brimming with talent and potential, and (football cliché alert) they could beat anyone on their day.

It all kicks off today (Friday, June 11) at 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT), with the Turkey vs Italy live stream. You can watch it all live, wherever you are, for free — so here’s how to watch Euro 2020.

How to watch Euro 2020 live streams for free

You’ll be able to find Euro 2020 live streams on free-to-air television in several countries, and that’s good news wherever you happen to live. 

In the U.K., Euro 2020 live streams will be available for free on BBC and ITV, with the two national broadcasters sharing out the games. Both will cover the final. 

That means that if you’re in the U.K. and have a valid TV licence, you’ll be able to follow every single game for free via either the BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub online.

Other countries will also have free-to-air coverage of Euro 2020 live streams, including TF1 in France, ARD and ZDF in Germany, Mediaset in Spain and RAI in Italy.

But what do you do if you’re normally in one of those countries, but happen to be abroad right now? The simple solution is to use one of the best VPN services, so you can watch your favorite streaming services wherever you are.

How to watch Euro 2020 live streams in the US

Soccer fans in the U.S. can watch Euro 2020 live streams on ABC and ESPN. Got those channels as part of a cable package? Then you’ll be able to stream games through the ESPN website and the ABC website.

If you’ve cut the cord and don’t have cable, you have plenty of options, too. Our pick of these would be Sling TV: the Sling Orange package costs just $35 per month and comes with more than 30 channels including ESPN. ABC’s games will be shown on ESPN3, so with Sling Orange you’ll be able to watch all the action. Plus, right now Sling is offering a 30-day trial for the bargain price of $10. 

Fubo.TV is another option. This costs $65 per month but gives you more than 117 channels, including ESPN and ABC and lots more for sports fans to enjoy.

If you’re a U.K. citizen — with a valid TV licence — who’ll be in the U.S. during the tournament, you can watch a Euro 2020 live stream for free by using a VPN to access BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub from anywhere in the world. ExpressVPN is our favorite right now, partly thanks to its risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

How to watch Euro 2020 live streams with a VPN

If you’re not in your home country and are unable to watch a Euro 2020 live stream from wherever you are, you can still tune in via a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN makes it appear that you’re surfing the web from your home town — meaning that you can access the streaming services you already pay for. 

We’ve tested many different VPN services and our favorite is ExpressVPN; it offers superb speeds, excellent customer service and a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out first to see if it’s right for you. But you’ve got other VPN options too, so check out our full list of the best VPN services.

How to watch Euro 2020 live streams in the UK

Football fans in the U.K. can go into Euro 2020 with plenty of excitement. England, Scotland and Wales have all qualified and every game will be available to watch for free on BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub online.

The two broadcasters have divided the games up between them, with BBC having the opening game plus England vs Croatia, Scotland vs Czech Republic and Wales’ games against Turkey and Switzerland. ITV, meanwhile, has the big England vs Scotland game, plus England vs Czech Republic, Scotland vs Croatia and Wales vs Italy. Both will cover the final.

All sounds great, right? But if you’re not in the U.K. and have a valid U.K. TV licence, you can still follow every single game by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN. 

How to watch Euro 2020 live streams in Canada

If you’re in Canada, you can get all the Euro 2020 action on TSN (in English) or TVS Sports (in French), as part of a cable TV package. If you’ve cut the cord, you can sign up for TSN Direct for $7.99 (CAD) a day or $19.99 per month. Plus, it’s open to all: you needn’t have TSN as part of an existing pay TV package.

It’s the same deal with TVA Sports Direct, though here it costs $19.99 a month without a daily option. 

If you live in Canada and already subscribe to TSN or TVA, but aren’t at home right now, you can still watch a Euro 2020 live stream by using one of the best VPN services.

How to watch Euro 2020 live streams in Australia

Aussies can watch the Euro 2020 live streams on Optus Sport, which will show all 51 matches. Optus can be accessed via a dedicated mobile or tablet app, and also on Chromecast and Apple TV.

Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN to watch all the action on your Optus account, as if you were back home.

How to watch Euro 2020: TV schedule in the UK

(All times BST)

Group stage: June 11-23

MORE: How to watch the Turkey vs Italy live stream at Euro 2020

Round of 16: June 26-29

Quarter-finals: July 2-3

Semi-finals: July 6-7

Euro 2020 final: July 11

Euro 2020 groups

On the face of it, Group A looks like a comfortable one for Italy, who have a strong squad packed with experienced veterans such as Giorgio Chiellini, Marco Verratti and Ciro Immobile.

Switzerland and Wales will both be confident of taking second — Switzerland topped their qualifying group and Wales still have Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey to call upon — but Turkey are much-improved in recent years and many pundits are tipping them to go far in this tournament. Don’t be surprised to see them qualify.

Belgium, with a squad boasting the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois, are the No.1 side in the world and the favorites for Euro 2020. That said, the pressure will be on this supremely gifted squad to claim some silverware before age catches up with them; if they don’t do it this time, they may never do so.

Denmark should take second behind them, with Russia and Finland battling it out for third spot and a potential berth in the last 16.

Group C is a tricky one to predict. Going by the FIFA rankings, it’s one of the weakest; Netherlands, ranked 16, are the top team here, but they haven’t played in an international tournament for seven years and are missing Virgil van Dijk through injury. 

Austria, as England found out last week, can be tricky opponents, and Ukraine could do well, but we’d expect those two to be playing for second place. North Macedonia are the lowest-ranked team at Euro 2020, but with Goran Pandev in the team they’ll still hope to spring an upset.

Group D should see fireworks on the pitch, with England vs Scotland always likely to be a spicy encounter. England and Croatia have history, too — not least the World Cup 2018 semi final, in which Luka Modric and Co. triumphed over Southgate’s young team.

England have improved since then, though, and will be confident of qualifying. Unfortunately, the draw means they’ll probably meet either Germany, France or Portugal in one of the next two rounds; there are few easy games at Euro 2020.

Scotland are in their first major tournament for 23 years and will want to do more than simply beat England (though they will of course want to do that). With Croatia still strong and the Czech Republic no pushovers, this is a tough group to be in.

Group E should be a comfortable one for Spain, who have plenty of talent if not quite so many stars as in previous years. 

Sweden are tricky customers — even without Zlatan Ibrahimovic — and will be confident of qualifying, while Poland are ranked only just outside the world’s top 20 and have Robert Lewandowski leading the line. Those three should contest the top two slots, with Slovakia facing a struggle to make an impact.

Every tournament has a group of death, and for Euro 2020 it’s Group F. 

With France (the world champions), Portugal (the reining European champions) and Germany (who can never be discounted) all in one group, it’s almost impossible to predict who’ll come out on top here. One thing that is clear is that poor old Hungary might be in trouble. Still, there’s always Euro 2024…

Where does Euro 2020 take place?

Euro 2020 is unlike any major football tournament before it, in that it takes place not in one or at most two countries, but in 11 host cities spread across the continent.

London will host both the final and the two semi-finals, plus various group and last-16 games, with other games taking place in all corners of Europe:

• London, England: Wembley Stadium
• Saint Petersburg, Russia: Saint Petersburg Stadium
• Baku, Azerbaijan: Baku Olympic Stadium
• Munich, Germany: Football Arena Munich
• Rome, Italy: Stadio Olimpico in Rome
• Amsterdam, Netherlands: Johan Cruijff Arena
• Bucharest, Romania: National Arena Bucharest
• Budapest, Hungary: Puskás Aréna
• Copenhagen, Denmark: Parken Stadium
• Glasgow, Scotland: Hampden Park
• Seville, Spain: Stadium La Cartuja Sevilla

Euro 2020 group stages: How qualifying works

With 24 teams competing in the group stages and 16 teams going through, the Euro 2020 group stages aren’t quite as straightforward as at some tournaments. 

The top two in each of the six groups will qualify automatically, giving 12 of the final 16, but the remaining four teams will be drawn from the six third-place sides.

Each will be ranked according to their point totals, with goal difference and goals scored used to separate any ties on the same totals. If that still isn’t enough to separate two (or more) teams, fair play conduct, and finally the UEFA international coefficient rankings, will be considered.