2023-07-28 16:16:12
Since England beat Germany to the trophy in the nail-biting finale of last year’s European Championships, football fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting this year’s World Cup.
On July 20th, it finally arrived – and it’s been a thrilling start to the tournament so far.
Though coverage of women’s football has traditionally been patchy, things have been changing significantly in recent years.
But fans in Germany still had to wait until days before the start of the tournament to discover that most of the matches would be broadcast for free in the country.
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So if you can’t make it over to Australia or New Zealand this month, you’ll be pleased to know that you can still catch the matches live online.
Where to watch the Women’s World Cup
On July 15th, German broadcasters ARD and ZDF announced that they would between them be broadcasting all the major World Cup matches between July 20th and August 20th.
“A blackout was prevented,” German Football Association president Bernd Neuendorf said after the news was announced. “This is of enormous importance for the further development of women’s football in Germany.”
Generally, the two broadcasters have been broadcasting the matches on alternating days, with smaller matches shown on either sportschau.de or sportstudio.de.
In the final stages of the tournament, ARD and ZDF each have broadcasting rights to a different stage of the tournament. ARD is be broadcasting the final 16, ZDF is broadcasting the quarter-finals, ARD is broadcasting the semi-finals and third place playoff, and ZDF broadcasting the final.
ZDF matches can be watched on the ZDF channel on your television or online on their live sports stream here.
ARD matches can be watched on the Das Erste channel on your television or live-streamed here on ARD Mediathek.
What are the upcoming matches?
Friday, July 28th
2am Argentina vs. South Africa (sportschau.de)
10.30am England vs. Denmark (ARD)
1pm China vs. Haïti (sportschau.de)
Saturday, July 29th
9.30am Sweden vs. Italy (ZDF)
12noon France vs. Brazil (ZDF)
2.30pm Panama vs. Jamaica (ZDF)
Sunday, July 30th
6.30am South Korea vs. Morocco (ARD)
9am Switzerland vs. New Zealand / Norway v Philippines (ARD)
11.30am Germany vs. Colombia (ARD)
Monday, July 31st
9am Costa Rica vs. Zambia (sportstudio.de)
9am Japan v Spain (ZDF)
12noon Ireland v Nigeria (sportstudio.de)
12 noon Canada vs. Australia (ZDF)
Tuesday, August 1st
9am Portugal vs. USA (ZDF)
9am Vietnam v Netherlands (sportstudio.de)
1pm China v England (ZDF)
1pm Haïti vs. Denmark (sportstudio.de)
European cup holders England score a goal against Denmark in their first group match. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AAP | Dan Himbrechts
Wednesday, August 2nd
9am South Africa vs. Italy / Argentina v Sweden (ARD)
12noon Panama vs. France (France 3) / Jamaica v Brazil (ARD)
Thursday, August 3rd
12noon South Korea vs Germany (ZDF)
12noon Morocco vs Colombia (sportstudio.de)
The knockout phase of the tournament kicks off on Saturday August 5th. While the teams involved remain to be determined, the schedule is set to run as follows:
Saturday, August 5th: Round of 16
7am Winner Pool A vs. second Pool C (ARD)
10am Winner Pool C vs. second Pool A (ARD)
Sunday, August 6th: Round of 16
4am Winner Pool E vs. second Pool G (ARD)
11am Winner Pool G vs. second Pool (ARD)
Monday, August 7th: Round of 16
9.30am Winner Pool D vs. second Pool B (ARD)
12.30pm Winner Pool B vs. second Pool D (ARD)
Friday, August 11th
3am First quarter-final (ZDF)
9am Second quarter-final (ZDF)
Saturday, August 12th
9am Third quarter-final (ZDF)
12.30pm Fourth quarter-final (ZDF)
Tuesday, August 15th
10am First semi-final (ARD)
12noon Second semi-final (ARD)
Saturday, August 19th
10am Third-place playoff (ARD)
Sunday, August 20th
12noon The final (ZDF)
What about public viewings?
One of the greatest joys of watching World Cups in Germany (when they run in the summer, that is) is gathering outdoors at what the Germans describe as “public viewings”.
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A map of public viewing locations in Berlin can be found on the state website here – and there are plenty to choose from around the city. Elsewhere in the country, things may be a little more patchy, but we recommend stopping by your favourite football in the neighbourhood and asking if they’ll be showing the matches.
Otherwise, parks, beer gardens and open-air cinema locations tend to be a relatively safe bet – especially when Germany are playing.
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