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How you can watch 2022 World Cup games on French TV

Want to watch the next big football showdown? Not all the matches in the 2022 World Cup are being broadcast for free on domestic French TV channels.

Published: 14 November 2022 14:20 CET
Updated: 10 December 2022 08:45 CET

How you can watch 2022 World Cup games on French TV

Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP

The men’s World Cup in Qatar is hotting up, so how can football fans in France watch catch them their on TV?

Broadcast coverage of the football tournament in France is divided between free-to-air TF1 and pay-to-view beIN Sports.

As it has done every tournament since 2014, pay-TV broadcaster beIN is showing every match of the tournament.

The free TF1, meanwhile, is showing a selection of 28 matches, including five of the eight round-of-16 games, three of the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final.

If you want to follow France then you’re all set – TF1 will broadcast all of the games that les Bleus play – their next fixture is on Saturday, December 10th at 8pm, when they will take on England.

TF1 will be showing two of the other three quarter final games which take place on Friday and Saturday, with some placings still to be decided.

The freeview channel will also be showing both semi finals on December 13th and 14th and the final on Sunday, December 18th.

If the match you want is not on terrestrial TV – or you just want a bit more atmosphere – your best choice is probably to head to a bar – many bars across France are screening all of the matches, and even quiet little cafés have suddenly added a TV screen to their walls.

Official fan zones – where local authorities set up big screens in public squares, usually with a few stalls selling beer and hot dogs as well – are not happening in many French cities after local authorities decided not to set them up in protest at the ethical issues of this World Cup, including the environmental impact and host nation Qatar’s record on human rights.

However we wouldn’t be surprised if they have a rethink if the French team makes it into the final . . .

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Fans filled the Place de la Concorde in central Paris to welcome the team who were driven straight to the square from the airport after touching down from Qatar.

They appeared on the balcony of the Crillon Hotel overlooking the square to a rousing welcome, AFP correspondents said.

Despite their disappointment, all 24 French players, including striker Kylian Mbappe whose hat trick failed to bring France glory, appeared on the balcony in regal style to acknowledge the applause.

“Frankly, it’s magnificent, it warms the heart, it’s a great pleasure to see that we were able to make so many French people proud and happy,” forward Marcus Thuram told TF1 TV.

“We wanted to see them (the fans) on our return from Doha because I think it’s the least we can do to come and see them and thank them for their support,” he added.

Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris told TF1 that it was a chance to “greet them (the fans), to thank them for their support and, after yesterday’s pain, to seek their consolation.”

Supporters had been kept guessing for most of the day about whether the disappointed players would travel to central Paris to meet them.

Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera had said early Monday that the team planned to go to the place de la Concorde.

‘Magnificent present’

But within hours, the French Football Federation (FFF) president contradicted the minister, saying the players would head home straight from the airport.

“When you don’t win you don’t feel like wandering down the Champs Elysees or anywhere else,” Noel Le Graet told the BFMTV broadcaster, in reference to the glamorous avenue running from Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe.

But the FFF then confirmed that the event would take place.

France lost on penalties on Sunday after the match ended 3-3 following extra time, but French commentators still heaped praise on the defeated side, while highlighting the crucial role of Argentinian captain Lionel Messi.

“Invited to the coronation of Lionel Messi, Les Bleus were heroic,” said L’Equipe sports newspaper.

The match was dominated by Argentina for the first 80 minutes before a quickfire double by Mbappe ignited France. Mbappe went on to score a third goal, becoming only the second player in history to grab a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

“Proud of our Bleus,” read a headline on the front page of Le Parisien newspaper with a picture of the team standing together during the penalty shootout.

“Football is often more than a sport. In the run up to Christmas, this World Cup has been a magnificent present,” the right-wing newspaper Le Figaro said in an editorial.

A total of 24.08 million people watched the match on Sunday on TF1 television, an all-time record audience for a French network, the channel said.

The interior ministry said that 227 people were arrested in France after the game, with 47 in Paris.

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