Soccer Live Online: Best Ways to Watch Soccer Leagues & Tournaments Without Cable

I remember when accessing international soccer matches was a challenge, whether or not I had cable TV. Now, the vast world of global soccer has opened up in ways I never thought possible.

In a hurry? You have many good options for watching soccer. These are our top choices — although they go great together.

• Fubo: This is unquestionably the best option with 110+ soccer-heavy channels including TUDN and beIN Sports. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
• Paramount+: Although not a full-cable replacement service, it is the home of Champions League and more.
• Fanatiz: Also not a cable replacement, but dedicated almost exclusively to soccer, especially Central and South American leagues.
• ESPN+: This service provides lots of soccer.

Soccer or football, as it is more commonly referred to, is the most popular sport in the world. No matter what you prefer to call it, there are fans everywhere and they are all loyal to the FCs of their choosing.

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Still, there are a lot of misconceptions where soccer is concerned. For example, many people think that you can’t watch most games in the United States. That’s absolutely untrue. As soccer becomes more popular in the States, it becomes easier to find games no matter where they are played.

In the sections below, you’ll find the channels you need and where to stream them to get the most soccer coverage possible. Whether you’re looking for ways to stream the World Cup, MLS Cup, Super Cup, La Liga, Copa America, UEFA Champions League, Premier League, or one of the other tournaments, you’ll be able to watch without cable.

Streaming Soccer: At a Glance

The true soccer fanatic should probably go all out and get:

• Fubo (for TUDN and beIN Sports)
• Paramount+
• ESPN+
• Peacock
• Fanatiz.

Even with all that, the total cost is just 109.95 per month — far less than most cable plans. But Paramount+ alone for just $7.99/month offers an amazing amount of soccer coverage.

Of course, you’ll be getting a lot more in terms of sports. And a tremendous amount of non-sports: news, entertainment, music, movie, and family channels.

How to Stream Soccer Online Without Cable

There are many advantages to streaming over cable. The biggest is probably that it is cheaper. But more important to some is the lack of a contract. And it is convenient. If you are on the road, you can take TV with you.

But for soccer fans in the US, the biggest advantage of streaming is that you have much greater access to the channels you need. That’s true of the more unusual ones like beIN Sports and TUDN. And it’s true of single-source streaming services like Paramount+.

Fubo: Live Soccer Streaming and More

Fubo (formerly FuboTV) started as a sports streaming service specializing in soccer. Today, they offer something for everyone, but they haven’t forgotten where they came from. You’ll still find loads of soccer coverage here on networks like ESPN, FS1, FS2, CBS Sports Network (CBSSN), beIN Sports, TUDN, and many others.

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Fubo is also a great service for watching the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL — especially since its great increase in supported RSNs.

You can get the International Sports Plus for an extra $6.99/mo. It includes the channels Fox Deportes, Zona Futbol, ESPN Deports, GolTV (English and Spanish), TyC Sports, Fox Soccer Plus, and more

The base package is $79.99/month. It comes with a total of 120+ channels and about two-thirds of them are non-sports focused so there’s something for everyone. These include all your local channels (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) as well as the major Spanish ones (Telemundo, Univision, UniMas, and Universo). And general “cable” channels like Animal Planet, BET, Comedy Central, Discovery, E! and so on.

All Fubo subscribers also get at least unlimited cloud DVR and streaming on up to ten devices. Fubo offers a free trial for all plans.

See our Fubo review for all the details.

DIRECTV STREAM: Everything You Expect From Cable

DIRECTV STREAM is a full cable replacement service with pretty much all of the channels you expect. It includes all the local affiliates as well as Univision, FS1, FS2, UniMas, TUDN, and Universo.

Get DIRECTV STREAM Free Trial

The base plan is $86.99/month but if you want access to DIRECTV STREAM’s unmatched RSN collection, you need to upgrade to the Choice plan for $114.99/month. And if you also want FS2 and TUDN, you will need to get the Ultimate plan for $129.99/month.

All DIRECTV STREAM subscribers get unlimited cloud DVR storage (online sign-up only) and unlimited streaming. See our DIRECTV STREAM review for more. (Black Friday details)

Sling TV: Unmatched Customizability and Low Cost

Sling TV is one of the cheapest ways to stream sports without cable. As soccer requires more channels than some other sports, your best option is to choose the Orange + Blue package. This will cost you $55.00/month for 50+ channels including ESPN, Fox, and NBC.

Save 50% on Sling TV Now

Subscribers don’t get any CBS channels, so you should definitely combine this with a Paramount+ subscription for an extra $7.99/month. ESPN+ is a good idea too for another $10.99/month ($109.99/year). And fans of Premier League will want to pick up Peacock, which has about half of all the EPL matches, including some of the Boxing Day matches.

You can also watch the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Champions Cup with Sling.

This plan comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR storage. Simultaneous streaming is a bit complicated. You can watch on up to three devices at once for Fox and NBC channels. But you are limited to one with the ESPN channels.

See our Sling TV review for more information.

Hulu + Live TV: Great Overall Service With the Channels You Want

Hulu + Live TV is probably our favorite overall streaming service. It comes with 85+ well-chosen live TV channels, industry-standard on-demand library, Disney+, and ESPN+. You get all that for $82.99/month.

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In terms of soccer, Hulu Live is less impressive. But it still includes a lot. In particular, you will get access to pretty much all Bundesliga and La Liga matches. And you also get CBS and CBSSN. But you will miss out on the many TUDN and beIN Sports channels.

Hulu + Live TV comes with unlimited cloud DVR (9 month storage) and streaming on up to two devices at the same time. For more information, see our Hulu + Live TV review.

YouTube TV: Solid Soccer Support

YouTube TV offers a similar plan to Hulu Live. It provides a few more channels and is slightly less expensive at $82.99/month. But it doesn’t include ESPN+.

It does, however, allow you to get very limited access to beIN Sports if you add the Sports Plus add-on for $10.99/mo more. Soccer fans are probably better off with Fubo.

Specialty Streaming Services for Soccer

Increasingly, soccer leagues and tournaments are appearing on specialty streaming services. These are usually thought of as on-demand services but they air live soccer (and other sports).

• Paramount+: CBS Sports has invested more in soccer than any of the other networks. This streaming service is just $7.99/month for coverage of UEFA and $12.99/month for Serie A (Italy, Brazil), AFC, and NWSL. (Paramount+ review)
• ESPN+: ESPN is the major competitor of CBS when it comes to soccer. It costs only $10.99/month or $109.99/year (but check out the Hulu Bundle for a great deal). It includes coverage of La Liga and Bundesliga. (ESPN+ review)
• Peacock: Although the base plan is free, if you want live sports, you need to upgrade to the Premium plan for $7.99/month. It doesn’t offer as much soccer as the other two, but it includes two big ones: Premier League and Olympics. (Peacock review)
• Fanatiz: An independent OTT service that includes all the channels you need to stream just about every Latin American top league, plus Ligue1, Süperlig, handball, polo, and more, all for $9.99/month. (Fanatiz review)

Devices and TVs to Live Stream Soccer

All the streaming services we’ve highlighted above allow you to watch your favorite teams and leagues on pretty much all the devices around these days. Check out our reviews for complete details.

For now, we will highly the two most important streaming services: Paramount+ and Fubo. They both support these devices:

Paramount+ also supports the PlayStation.

Soccer Leagues and Tournaments

The spread of soccer around the world consists of an interesting mixture of leagues and cups played by clubs and international teams. Everything is interconnected with the best clubs in their countries generally playing in continental championships, which are titled Champions Leagues in most continents. And national teams also take part in continental championship events as well as World Cups and, for senior women’s teams, the Olympics.

The simplest way to think of the soccer world is like an interconnected pyramid in a way. Here is a look at some of the planet’s most important leagues and clubs, first the men, then the women.

Domestic Leagues

The domestic game is the bread-and-butter of the sport. That is where clubs play the vast majority of their matches. Teams in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France highlight Europe. Brazil has some of South America’s best sides. And Mexico and the US set the pace in North America.

England

England’s top teams play in the Premier League although the second-tier Championship has clubs that would do well in many other countries’ top leagues. Below that are League One, League Two, National League, and so on.

Hundreds of teams play in the FA Cup while sides in the top four levels take part in the EFL Cup. Almost all clubs in the English system are English, but five, none of which are in the Premier League, are Welsh. Some of England’s best sides are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United.

Spain

La Liga is where all Spanish clubs want to play. Below that is La Liga 2 and so on.

Meanwhile, the Copa del Rey is the country’s top cup competition. The Supercopa de Espana features the previous season’s league and cup champions and runners-up.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are the biggest clubs in Spain. Soccer games between these clubs are such a big deal that they have their own name: El Clasico.

Italy

Italy’s top league is Serie A. It is followed by Serie B, Serie C, and Serie D.

Its premier cup competition is the Coppa Italia. Meanwhile, the Supercoppa Italiana features the previous campaign’s Serie A and Coppa Italia winners.

Top Italian sides include Atalanta, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lazio, Napoli, and Roma.

Germany

The Bundesliga is Germany’s top league. In it are clubs such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but it tends to be strong from top to bottom.

Below that league are the 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga while the DFB-Pokal is the country’s premier cup competition. Both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal enjoy tremendous attendances.

France

The ambition of every French club is to play in Ligue 1. Paris Saint-Germain has dominated as of late, winning seven of eight titles, although Lille claimed the 2020-21 trophy.

It is followed by Ligue 2 and Championnat National. Meanwhile, the Coupe de France attracts thousands of teams every year.

See our guide to watching Ligue 1 on Sling TV for more info.

Brazil

Brazil has an interesting structure in which clubs play in both national and state leagues. For example, Coritiba Foot Ball Club takes part in the Campeonato Paranaense for teams in Parana as well as the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A for Brazil’s top sides. (See our guide for Portuguese coverage and all about the top teams to watch.)

The country’s top domestic cup is the Copo do Brasil.

Mexico

Liga MX and Liga de Expansion are Mexico’s top two leagues.

One feature that sets Mexico’s league system apart from most in the world is its use of Apertura and Clausura campaigns, which are essentially half-seasons.

Mexico also incorporates playoffs like many countries in the Americas. Unfortunately, the Copa MX has not had a stable timetable or format over the past several years.

US and Canada

Major League Soccer is where this sport is concentrated in the US and Canada. Teams are spread across the US and are in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, BC.

Many of MLS’s highest attendances are in Cascadia, where the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps play. However, Atlanta United has set the league pace in that category since joining MLS in 2017.

The MLS Cup playoffs decide its champion, and the US Open Cup and the Canadian Championship are those respective countries’ top cup competitions.

The United Soccer League (USL) spans the United States and Canada as well as Jamaica. It has been around for almost 4 decades and started as an indoor league. It now has three men’s (Championship, League One, League Two), two women’s (Super League, W League), and two youth (USL Academy, Super Y League).

USL matches often appear on ESPN channels and there is thorough coverage on ESPN+.

International — Club Tournaments

Throughout the world, a country’s top teams usually participate in that continent’s version of the Champions League. These include the UEFA Champions League (Europe), AFC Champions League (Asia), OFC Champions League (Oceania), CAF Champions League (Africa), CONCACAF Champions League (North America), and Copa Libertadores (South America).

Meanwhile, those teams that are based in Europe have two other competitions that they attempt to qualify for if they are not able to make the Champions League or are later eliminated from it. These are the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League. All three of those finals are played in May or June, the latter month usually only applying to the Champions League in some years.

However, note that the European competitions will undergo significant changes from the 2024-25 campaign on. Most significantly, each Champions League group stage team will play 10 matches against 10 different opponents as opposed to today’s six contests versus three other teams.

Meanwhile, in the US, the MLS Cup winner, the teams with the best regular-season records in the Eastern and Western Conferences, and the US Open Cup trophy holder secure spots in the CONCACAF Champions League. Generally, if any team takes up two or more of those spots, whichever side had the next best regular-season record will qualify as well to fill the US’ allotment of four teams. With that said, the CONCACAF Champions League format will experience a notable revamping in 2024.

There is also a FIFA Club World Cup for the best teams from each continent. The number of clubs, how often it is held, and its format are in flux. It is believed that the next edition will be an expansive 24-team affair, probably to initially take place in 2022 or 2023. The previous format had been held annually and involved the six continental champions and the current titleholder of the host country’s top league.

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International – Country Tournaments

In few sports are national teams as important to fans and others as it is in soccer. But this does depend on the specific country. It is less the case in, for example, England.

Here is a list of the major international competitions that are competed in by senior national teams.

World Cup

The crown jewel of the sport is the FIFA World Cup. This is held every four years and features the best teams. The next even will be June 2026 and it will feature 48 teams.

The World Cup first took place in 1930 in Uruguay, and its 2022 edition is set for Qatar. Heading into that 2022 tournament, Brazil has the most trophies with five while Germany and Italy have secured that valuable piece of hardware on four occasions apiece. Meanwhile, France won the most recent event, in 2018.

Qualifying for the World Cup takes years and features every national team that is interested in entering, which is usually nearly all of them.

Euros

The UEFA European Championship, usually referred to simply as the Euros, is the same type of competition as the World Cup but solely for the best national teams in Europe.

It first took place in 1960. It was only a four-team affair then. Euro 2024 will feature 24 sides. Its 23 qualifiers will head to Germany.

Gold Cup

North America’s continental championship event for national teams is the CONCACAF Gold Cup. This competition is held every two years, and, partially as a result of that, sometimes teams do not call up top players for it, particularly if they are also busy with FIFA World Cup qualifying that year.

The Gold Cup was first held in 1991, but its predecessor, the CONCACAF Championship, dates to 1963. The inaugural edition of the earlier competition was played in El Salvador and won by Costa Rica.

The US claimed the 1991 Gold Cup, which it hosted as well. The US and Mexico have dominated this event with, entering 2023, the US claiming seven trophies, Mexico eight, and Canada one.

Finalissima

The Finalissima is the name of the relaunched CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions. It was last played in 2022 when Argentina defeated Italy 3-0. The next event is in 2025.

The women’s event took place in 2023 and featured England and Brazil. The final score was 1-1 with England winning on penalties.

Other Continental Championships

The showcase event in Asia is the AFC Asian Cup. Africans push for qualification to the Africa Cup of Nations (Sling Guide). Those in Oceania have a goal of playing in the OFC Nations Cup. And the premier competition in South America is the Copa America.

The last one in that group is the most prestigious of these as top South American sides are amongst the world’s best.

Also, both UEFA and CONCACAF have recently created Nations League competitions, which are more like league systems with promotion and relegation between every edition.

Both also double as Euros and Gold Cup qualifying, respectively. The UEFA version provides some teams for the play-off round of World Cup qualifying as well.

Women’s Competitions

Women’s soccer is formatted similarly to the men’s side.

Women’s World Cup

The FIFA Women’s World Cup is the showcase event for women’s players. It was initially held in 1991 in China with 80-minute matches as organizers had erroneously thought that women could not handle 90-minute contests. That mistake was rectified for the 1995 edition. (See our Team USA Guide.)

The US has claimed the most Women’s World Cup titles with four, including the first one in 1991, 1999 (a historic edition with massive attendances that was hosted by the country), 2015, and 2019. Germany is the only other multiple winner, lifting the trophy in 2003 and 2007.

Qualifying for the Women’s World Cup is not as extensive as it is for the men’s as fewer soccer matches are generally played. Also, qualifying competitions often double as continental championships. That is, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup serves as a Women’s World Cup qualifying event as well.

All national associations are eligible to enter Women’s World Cup qualifying. The majority do but not at as high a percentage as occurs on the men’s side.

Olympics

On the women’s side, the Olympics feature full national teams. This 12-squad affair necessitates a much tougher qualifying process to get through than is the case for the Women’s World Cup.

The US has also dominated the Olympics, having won gold four times (1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012). The only other gold medalists are Canada, Germany, and Norway. They have claimed gold once apiece.

Also note that England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are not eligible for the Olympics as the International Olympic Committee does not recognize them as individual national teams. However, Great Britain is eligible to compete.

Note that the Olympics on the men’s side showcases mostly youth (U-23) teams, not senior sides.

Continental Championships – National Teams

Each of the continents holds championship events although most of them double as Women’s World Cup qualifying.

The one primary exception to that is the Women’s Euros, also known as the UEFA Women’s Championship, which is a standalone event. In it, Germany has dominated, having won it eight times. The only other winners are Norway (twice), Netherlands (once), and Sweden (once).

Also, the CONCACAF W Gold Cup, which will initially take place in 2024, is expected to be a standalone event.

The other continental championships, all of which have historically doubled as Women’s World Cup qualifying, are the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, OFC Women’s Nations Cup (Oceania), Africa Women Cup of Nations, and the Copa América Femenina (South America).

UEFA Women’s Champions League

The world’s premier international women’s club competition is the UEFA Women’s Champions League. It features top teams from nearly all European countries with 72 taking part and 16 advancing to its group stage.

Historically, Lyon has set the pace with seven trophy wins while Frankfurt has claimed the hardware on four occasions. Other multiple winners have included Turbine Potsdam, Umea, and VfL Wolfsburg — each has won this twice.

National Women’s Soccer League

The NWSL is believed by most to be the world’s top women’s soccer league. It is based entirely in the US although there has been talk of expanding to Canada.

Its reach is not as large as MLS’s as just 12 teams take part in the NWSL, but the league does stretch from coast to coast and has clubs in cities such as Chicago, Houston, and Orlando.

The North Carolina Courage, Portland Thorns, and former FC Kansas City are the league’s lone multiple title winners, each having won the competition twice.

Where to Watch Soccer on TV

For fans in the US, it can be confusing to find where exactly the matches will be playing on TV. We will discuss streaming below, but here are the families of channels/services that cover the most important leagues and tournaments:

• AFC Champions League: CBS Sports
• AFC Women’s Asian Cup: CBS Sports
• Africa Cup of Nations: beIN Sports
• Africa Women Cup of Nations:
• Bundesliga: ESPN
• CAF Champions League: beIN Sports
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: CBS Sports
• CONCACAF Champions League: Fox Sports, TUDN
• CONCACAF Gold Cup: Fox Sports
• Copa América Femenina:
• Copa Libertadores: beIN Sports
• FIFA World Cup: Fox Sports
• FIFA Women’s World Cup: Fox Sports
• La Liga: ESPN
• Liga MX: TUDN
• Ligue 1: beIN Sports
• MLS: ESPN
• National Women’s Soccer League: CBS Sports
• OFA Champions League:
• OFC Women’s Nations Cup:
• Olympics: NBC Sports
• Premier League: NBC Sports
• Serie A: CBS Sports
• UEFA Champions League: CBS Sports
• UEFA European Championship: Fox Sports
• UEFA Europa League: CBS Sports
• UEFA Europa Conference League: CBS Sports

Note in this list that CBS will indicate Paramount+, NBC Peacock, ESPN ESPN+

Wrapping Up

Cable was never that good for soccer fans. It’s better now. But streaming is far better still. You can get all the major soccer channels by signing up with Fubo.

And if you add on Paramount+, ESPN+, Peacock Premium, well, you’ll be in soccer nirvana. But we will not be held accountable if your work suffers.

Sign up today.

FAQs

What is the best soccer streaming service?

Soccer is far too broad and diverse a sport to be covered by a single streaming service. However, we think that any super fan will be well situated by signing up for three services: Fubo, Paramount+, and ESPN+. With each of these, you will have pretty much complete coverage of every major league in the world. And you can get them all for roughly $100, which is far less than most people pay for cable.

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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