A place in the last four of the 2025 UEFA Nations League is at stake as Croatia’s veteran lineup takes on Kylian Mbappé’s France in the first leg of this quarterfinal in Split.
The head-to-heads between these two nations strongly favors the French, with Les Blues having won six of the previous 10 meetings, with today’s hosts claiming just a single victory during those fixtures.
The most significant of those French wins was its victory in the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, with the two coaches involved that day — Zlatko Dalic and Didier Deschamps — still in charge of their respective countries for this game.
Croatia hosts France at the Stadion Poljud in Split on Thursday, March 20. Kickoff is set for 8:45 p.m. CET local time in Croatia, making it a 7:45 p.m. GMT start in the UK, a 3:45 p.m. ET or 12:45 p.m. PT kickoff in the US and Canada, and a 6:45 a.m. AEDT start on Friday, March 21 in Australia.
Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live wherever you are in the world.
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé is back in the France squad as captain.
Livestream the Croatia vs. France match in the US
Today’s game is on Fox Sports 2. If you don’t have the channel as part of your cable lineup, it can be streamed via Sling TV.
How to watch the Croatia vs. France match online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view this Nations League fixture locally, you may need a different way to watch the match — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
Livestream the Croatia vs. France match in the UK for free
While this season, Amazon Prime Video is showing a select number of Nations League matches via pay-per-view, this game is not one of those selected for broadcast.
That also means that if you’re in the UK traveling for pleasure or for work, you’re unlikely to be able to watch the game like you normally would at home, thanks to geoblocking.
There’s one option to get around this. By using a VPN, as explained above, you can set your location to a country where the match is being broadcast and go from there.
Livestream the Croatia vs. France match in Australia
Football fans Down Under can also watch this match on streaming service Optus Sport.
Livestream the Croatia vs. France match in Canada
If you want to stream this game live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to DAZN Canada.
Quick tips for streaming international soccer using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming soccer may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
