England are set to play one of their biggest games in years when they face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final. Thomas Tuchel’s side will fight to join Spain in the final on Wednesday, June 15, with Lionel Messi’s defending champions the only team left in their way.
Every game at the World Cup has been broadcast across the BBC and ITV, with England vs Argentina to air exclusively on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK from an 8pm kick-off. These channels can only be accessed in the UK, which could spell trouble for football fans on holiday during the tournament.
How to Watch World Cup Games from Abroad
There is a way to tune into the game and the final on Sunday, July 19, if they stream over a VPN (Virtual Private Network). This service from brands like Proton VPN unblocks UK-only channels and streaming apps by changing the IP address of a laptop, tablet or smartphone. This process means World Cup viewers can still watch the games on BBC and ITV from abroad in most countries, despite them being only available at home.
Be aware that ITV takes the view that the use of a VPN to watch content from another territory may be a breach of the relevant broadcasters’ terms of service and may constitute copyright infringement. It is the user's responsibility to ensure that their use of a VPN is legal, and the Mirror does not encourage any illegal use of a VPN.
Proton VPN World Cup Promotion
For those needing a new VPN package to watch World Cup matches, Proton VPN is a privacy-first service built by the team behind Proton Mail. It’s offering a World Cup promotion with up to 70% off until July 20. This knocks £134 off a two-year plan at £2.39 per month (was £7.99) and £62 off a one-year plan at £2.99 per month (was £7.99), both of which are billed annually. For those preferring flexibility, a rolling one-month plan is now £3.99 (was £7.99).
It’s worth noting that the two-year and one-year plans must be paid upfront at £57.36 and £33.48 respectively. Each Proton VPN subscription lets customers change their location to one of more than 140 countries worldwide. As Proton is based in Switzerland, it also offers one of the world’s strongest privacy jurisdictions, according to the brand, with an ad-blocker and malware protection for extra security. It can be used on up to 10 devices simultaneously on Apple iOS, Android, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, smart TVs, Windows, Mac and even routers and Linux.
Other VPN Options
Proton isn’t the only VPN service up for grabs, with ExpressVPN another highly-rated option. Prices are slightly cheaper here, starting at £1.99 on the Basic two-year plan, which also comes with 10 entries for an Apple iPhone 17 Pro raffle but offers access to servers in fewer countries (105). NordVPN, on the other hand, boasts servers in a whopping 224 locations, but this comes at a higher cost as prices start at £2.59 for the 24-month Basic plan. For those opting for Proton VPN, new users can benefit from a 30-day money-back guarantee for peace of mind.
What Do Proton VPN Users Say?
The brand claims more than 100 million customers use its service to unblock content and protect their privacy online. It was also awarded an ‘exemplary’ five-star rating by PCMag in 2025, which praised its ‘unmatched privacy, value, and features’ that make it ‘the top VPN service’. Over at Trustpilot, hundreds of users have rated Proton VPN a perfect five stars, with one review saying: “I’ve used Proton VPN for over two years without a single issue. The connection is consistently fast and stable across all protocols, and the apps work like a charm on desktop and mobile.”
Another says: “It’s fast, reliable, [has] dozens and dozens of global locations to choose from and never drops connections.” Although positive overall, this four-star review highlighted some potential downsides, saying: “A bit slow but generally reliable. I’ve had a pretty good experience, I think the speeds could definitely be better, but controls and settings on your VPN connection are a big upgrade from my previous service.” While this five-star review says: "Their servers work great, exceptionally good ping compared to my last provider. I don’t mind captchas, it’s a VPN after all, but for me it does exactly what I want it to do and it’s speedy."
