The FIFA World Cup is among the most watched sporting events in the whole planet, along with the Superbowl, the World Series, the Champions League final, the Formula 1, the NBA Finals and the tennis Grand Slam tournaments. The chances are that the Russia 2018 event will top them all regarding ratings and audience.
Every four years, people all over the world stop everything they are doing to enjoy the FIFA World Cup matches: some travel all the way to the host nation and buy tickets to enjoy the most exciting matches. Others may not have the funds to do that and prefer to hire satellite, cable or online streaming services and watch all the action from the comfort of their houses.
Speaking of the last option, which is online streaming, it has quickly gained popularity recently because it can involve mobile or portable devices and it requires just an Internet connection and a TV, computer or smartphone.
For the 2018 FIFA World Cup, there will be hundreds of channels with official broadcasting rights, so you don’t have to go to Russia to feel like you are near the pitch! The technology these days allows you to enjoy different cameras, angles, slow-motion, High Definition, and other things.
One of the most popular multimedia streaming devices these days is the Amazon Fire TV Stick. Small and portable, you can take it wherever you want, and it will help you connect with some of the official channels of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.
However, since you would be manipulating the Internet and your online identity may be visible to anyone on the web, you would be best served if you hire the services of a VPN provider. Virtual Private Networks (VPN) work on the Amazon Fire TV Stick with no hassle.
VPN brands, or companies, offer an encryption service to help users around the world augment their security, privacy, and anonymity. With a VPN, customers can avoid being spotted by governmental agencies making “surveillance,” your Internet Service Provider, annoying Internet companies trying to sell you things you don’t need, and even hackers and crypto miners.
In this guide, we will tell you everything you need to know about the FIFA World Cup 2018 on Amazon Fire TV Stick and how you can use the advantages that a VPN provides for streaming safely and opening up new content and possibilities with the combination of the two.
The world’s most famous sporting event
The FIFA World Cup is right around the corner! The kick-off of the opening match will be on June 14, and the actors will be Russia, the host nation, and Saudi Arabia, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
A total of thirty-two nations will fight for the honor of being called champions of the world. Every one of them – except Russia, qualified as the host country – battled for years to earn a place in the tournament. Being here is already a triumph, but these players want more.
Germany is the defending champion, having beat Argentina in the Brazil 2014 edition with a score of 1-0, after extra time. A Mario Gotze strike and a few timely interventions by the goalkeeper and defense was all that the Mannschaft needed to earn its fourth world title and matching Italy’s line.
Brazil, a five-time world champion, enters as one of the favorites with the likes of Neymar, Phillippe Coutinho, Marquinhos, Willian, Roberto Firmino, Marcelo, Casemiro and Gabriel Jesus at the helm. Germany is no slouch, either, with an impressive pool of players to choose from.
The world’s top two players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, will also be present in the event with Argentina and Portugal, respectively. Fans and experts shouldn’t discard Belgium, France, Spain or England as candidates.
The two biggest snubs will be Italy and the Netherlands. They are both enduring transition periods, but their fan base is not used to watch a World Cup without them being present and fighting for the top honors.
FIFA World Cup Groups
There will be eight groups of four teams each, for a total of 32. They will be named from A to H. The draw to determine the groups was held on December 1, 2017, at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
- Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
- Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
- Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
- Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
- Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
- Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
- Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
- Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
Channels with broadcasting rights for the FIFA World Cup
Almost every country in the world secured at least one channel with broadcasting rights for the matches, highlights, and commentary. Here are the TV stations with the green light to provide game action for their viewers:
- Albania – RTSH
- Andorra – TF1, beIN Sports
- Argentina – TV Pública, DirecTV, TyC Sports
- Armenia – ARMTV
- Australia – SBS, Optus Sport
- Austria – ORF
- Azerbaijan – İTV
- Bangladesh – BTV, Maasranga TV, Nagorik TV, Sony Pictures Networks
- Bahamas – ZNS, DirecTV
- Belarus – BTRC
- Belgium – VRT, RTBF
- Bolivia – Unitel, Red Uno, DirecTV
- Bosnia and Herzegovina – BHRT
- Brazil – Globo, SporTV, Fox Sports
- Brunei – Astro
- Bulgaria – BNT
- Canada – CTV, RDS, TSN
- Chile – Canal 13, TVN, Mega, DirecTV, Movistar
- China – CCTV
- Colombia – Caracol TV, RCN TV, DirecTV
- Costa Rica – Teletica, Sky, Movistar
- Croatia – HRT
- Cuba – ICRT
- Cyprus – CyBC
- Czech Republic – ČT
- Denmark – DR, TV 2
- Dominica – Sky, DirecTV
- Dominican Republic – Antena 7, Sky
- Ecuador – RTS, DirecTV
- El Salvador – TCS, Sky
- Estonia – ERR
- Faroe Islands – DR, TV 2
- Finland – Yle
- France – TF1, beIN Sports
- Germany – ARD, ZDF
- Georgia – GPB
- Greenland – DR, TV 2
- Guatemala – TV Azteca, Tigo Sports, Sky, Movistar
- Honduras – TVC, Sky, Movistar
- Hong Kong – ViuTV, Now TV
- Hungary – MTVA
- Iceland – RÚV
- Indonesia – Transmedia, K-Vision, SuperPass
- Ireland – RTÉ
- Israel – KAN
- Italy – Mediaset
- Jamaica – TVJ, DirecTV
- Japan – Fuji TV, NHK, NTV, TBS, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo
- Kazakhstan – Qazaqstan
- Kosovo – RTK
- Latvia – LTV
- Liechtenstein – SRG SSR
- Lithuania – LRT
- Malaysia – Astro
- Malta – PBS
- Mexico – Televisa, TV Azteca, SKY México
- Moldova – TRM
- Monaco – TF1, beIN Sports
- Mongolia – NTV, MNB
- Montenegro – RTCG
- Morocco – SNRT, KAN, beIN Sports
- The Netherlands – NOS
- New Zealand – Sky Sport
- Nicaragua – Ratensa, Sky, Movistar
- Norway – NRK, TV 2
- Panama – Corporación Medcom, Televisora Nacional, Sky, Movistar
- Paraguay – SNT, Telefuturo, TyC, DirecTV
- Peru – Latina, DirecTV
- Philippines – ABS-CBN
- Poland – TVP
- Portugal – RTP, SIC
- Romania – TVR
- Russia – Perviy Kanal, VGTRK, Match TV
- Serbia – RTS
- Slovakia – RTVS
- Slovenia – RTVSLO
- South Africa – SABC, SuperSport, StarTimes
- South Korea – KBS, MBC, SBS
- Spain – Mediaset España
- Suriname – SCCN, DirecTV
- Sweden – SVT, TV4
- Switzerland – SRG SSR
- Taiwan – ELTA
- Timor Leste – ETO Telco
- Trinidad & Tobago – CNC3, DirecTV
- Turkey – TRT
- Ukraine – Inter
- The United Kingdom – BBC, ITV
- The United States – FOX, Telemundo
- Uruguay – Monte Carlo, Canal 10, Teledoce, TyC, DirecTV
- Venezuela – Venevisión, DirecTV
The Amazon Fire TV Stick
Online streaming and entertainment cannot get easier (and smaller!) than with an Amazon Fire TV Stick, which is a digital media player in the form of a plugin stick for easier management and transportation. Amazon develops and commercializes it.
You can stream audio and video content from your Firestick with the help of a High Definition television device connected to a network. The first generation was launched in 2014 as a smaller version of the set-top box Amazon Fire TV. It is an HDMI-port plug-in device with 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, a Broadcom BCM28155 dual-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A9 processor and a Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU. It has a remote control.
The second generation device was released in October 2016 and included Alexa Voice Remote system. The processor is also more potent than the first one, with a MediaTek MT8127D Quad-core ARM 1.3 GHz one with a Mali-450 MP4 GPU, and support for the H.265 (HEVC) codec.
Gain access to streaming sites from all over the world with a VPN
A VPN is an online resource that protects the user’s IP address by hiding it and lending it a new one for temporary use. That process increases privacy since one of the most visible ways to be tracked is by the IP number; anonymity, and security. With a Virtual Private Networks, you will be almost entirely invisible to hackers and other threats.
However, the most exciting feature of VPNs, at least for the online streaming community, is their ability to spoof your locations and unblocking all kinds of sites and services online. Each page, app or service is made to function in some geographical regions. For example, the Fox Sports Go app, which will be broadcasting the World Cup, is only available in the USA territory.
With a VPN, you could mask your current location (no matter where you are) and connect to a US server, pretending you are physically there when you are not. Getting an American IP address will make the system believe you are within the USA territory and therefore, the service will become available to you.
How to Watch FIFA World Cup 2018 on Amazon Fire TV Stick
For this explanation, we will use TorGuard, one of our recommended VPN brands.
- Go to the home screen of your Amazon Fire Stick.
- Go to Apps.
- Access Categories.
- Go to Utility.
- Choose TorGuard VPN from the list.
- Click the button next to Get to download and install the app.
- After proper installation, click the button next to Open on the same page to launch the TorGuard app.
- Log in to your TorGuard account with your username and password.
- Select a server from a country that has an online streaming site with World Cup coverage: we will use the Fox Sports Go app, based in the USA.
- To watch the FIFA World Cup 2018 on Amazon Fire TV Stick, to install Fox Sports Go app on your device, following these steps.
- Access the official Amazon app store, available on PC, Android, BlackBerry, or Fire devices.
- Search the Fox Sports Go app.
- Launch the Amazon app store on your device.
- Tap “My Apps.”
- Your app will appear on the list.
- Open the app while connected to the US server of your VPN provider.
- Search for the game you want to stream, and that’s it!
Best VPN to watch the FIFA World Cup on Amazon Fire TV Stick
TorGuard
Offering OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP/IPSec and all the major protocols, TorGuard provides one of the best services for Amazon Fire TV Stick users. It has hundreds of servers in 55 countries, so having options to watch the 2018 FIFA World Cup won’t be an issue. It also can connect five devices simultaneously, excellent customer service with a live chat feature, and DNS leak protection.
IPVanish
The fastest VPN in the market, IPVanish is the perfect ally of streaming devices and services, such as the Amazon Fire TV stick. It is highly compatible and has numerous configurations and features, such as DNS leak protection, a kill switch and a vast network that includes 40,000 IP addresses and content in 60 nations.
Private Internet Access
One of the best values of the bunch, PIA offers similar encryption, protocols and privacy measures at nearly half the price of the top competitors. It works perfectly with the Amazon TV Fire Stick, and it has servers in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries with scheduled World Cup coverage.
GhostVPN
GhostVPN is a fast, secure option for Amazon Fire TV Stick users. It has features such as stealth VPN, 1,600 servers in 51 nations, unlimited speeds, server switching and bandwidth, a 15-day money-back guarantee and a rigorous no logging policy.
In conclusion, you shouldn’t miss the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the Amazon Fire TV Stick’s portability and features make sure you carry the action with you, anywhere you go. The experience, however, is better with a VPN, because it provides security, privacy and the chance of unblocking sites and services around the world that will broadcast the tournament via online streaming.
