Costa Rica vs Germany live stream and match preview, Thursday 1 December, 7pm GMT
Costa Rica vs Germany live stream and match preview
Looking for a Costa Rica vs Germany live stream? We've got you covered. Costa Rica vs Germany is free on ITV4 and the ITV Hub in the UK. Brit abroad? Use a VPN to watch World Cup 2022 free from anywhere.
Germany must beat Costa Rica to stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout phase after collecting just one point from the first six on offer.
A win for the Nationalelf would be enough if Spain beat Japan. If that match ends in a draw, Germany would need to emerge victorious by two clear goals.
Despite losing their first match 7-0, Costa Rica are guaranteed to progress if they win on Thursday.
Kick-off is at 7pm GMT. Make sure you know how to watch World Cup 2022 wherever you are.
Team news
Costa Rica make three changes from the side which started the win over Japan: Juan Pablo Vargas replaces the suspended Francisco Calvo at centre-back, while Brandon Aguilera and Johan Venegas come in for Gerson Torres and Anthony Contreras on the right and up front respectively.
Germany make just one alteration from the draw with Spain: Leroy Sane comes in for Thilo Kehrer, with Ilkay Gundogan likely moving deeper into midfield and Joshua Kimmich to right-back.
Form
Costa Rica were thumped 7-0 by Spain on matchday one, but they bounced back to beat Japan 1-0 last time out.
Germany suffered a come-from-behind defeat by Japan in their first outing in Qatar, before a battling 1-1 draw with Spain at the weekend.
Referee
Stephanie Frappart of France will be the referee for Costa Rica vs Germany. You can find out more about the World Cup 2022 referees here.
Stadium
Costa Rica vs Germany will be played at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. Take a look at all of the World Cup 2022 stadiums and see how it ranks.
Players to watch / key battles
Costa Rica will sit deep and look to make life difficult for Germany, but they may struggle to mount counter-attacks.
The Nationalelf will dominate possession and look to make an early breakthrough, but they will have to remain patient if they do not score in the opening exchanges.
Fullkrug would provide a penalty-box presence against opponents that will defend in a low block.
Read more about the full Costa Rica and Germany full World Cup 2022 squads.
Group E table
| Team | P | W | L | D | Pts |
| Spain | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Japan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Costa Rica | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Germany | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Kick-off and channel
Costa Rica vs Germany kick-off is at 7pm GMT on Thursday 1 December in the UK. The game is free to watch on ITV4 and ITV Hub.
In the US, kick-off time is 2pm ET / 11am PT. The match will be shown on FOX/FS1 in the US. See below for international broadcast options.
VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch World Cup 2022 football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for the World Cup 2022, then you won't be able to watch on your domestic streaming service as usual. The broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!) and blocks you from watching it. You can use a VPN to get around that, though, without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and will let you watch. And all the info going between is entirely encrypted, anonymous and safe – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there. For the World Cup 2022, FourFourTwo currently recommends:
International World Cup 2022 TV rights
UK
All of the games in the UK are either on the BBC or ITV.
- BBC iPlayer (free)
- ITV Hub (free)
USA
Fox are the World Cup rights holders in the States. Games are on Fox or FS1 cable channels.
If you don't have cable, you can use services such Sling and FuboTV to get the Fox channels. You can also watch the games on Peacock TV with Spanish commentary.
- Sling Blue ($20 first month)
- FuboTV (7-day free trial)
- Peacock Premium ($5.99/month)
Canada
TSN is showing every game. You can subscribe for direct streaming or get it as part of your cable package.
- TSN ($19.99/mon or $199.90/year)
Australia
As in the UK, coverage of the World Cup 2022 is entirely free to air. You can watch all 64 games on the SBS TV channel and stream it online too with SBS On Demand.
- SBS On Demand (free)
New Zealand
Paid provider Sky Sports are the World Cup 2022 rights holders in New Zealand. You can watch as part of your Sky subscription of pick up a Sky Now TV pass. There is also a 7-day free trial.
- Sky Sport Now ($19.99 / $39.99)
