How to watch England vs Ukraine – Euro 2021 Quarter finals

Euro 2020 is down to the last eight, with some of the tournament favorites crashing out after some eyebrow-raising results from the round-of-16.

With the competition climbing closer to its climax, broadcasters all over Europe are showing the games for free, giving fans the opportunity to watch some of the best international football in the world. However, these channels aren’t accessible if you live outside of Europe, and in many locations outside the continent, paying a sizeable subscription fee is the only way to access the matches. 

One of Saturday’s quarter-final clashes features England and Ukraine. This guide will explain how to watch the euros via a legal, free and safe stream using a VPN provider that’s up to the job. 

How to watch England vs Ukraine anywhere in 5 steps

This guide takes you through exactly why you need a VPN, how to use one, and also provides a bit of information about the impending quarter-final games and where you can watch them. 

If you’re in a rush, however, we’ve condensed down the steps you need to take to stream England vs Ukraine for free, so take a look below. 

Completing each of these steps as instructed above will mean you’re all set to stream England and Ukraine’s most important game of the Euros so far – but read on for more information on the channels showing the game! 

How to watch England vs Ukraine outside of Europe

Countries like France, Portugal, and Turkey have all crashed out of Euros already, but they’ll still have free-to-air broadcasters showing the games, as will countries like Spain, Italy, and England who are still in with a shout of winning the tournament.

There are also many other broadcasters to choose from – this isn’t an exhaustive list – but the beauty of a VPN is that you always have that choice. 

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What time does England vs Ukraine start?

England will take on Ukraine at 21:00 CET (20:00 GMT) on Saturday 3 July. The game is taking place in Rome, quite a way away from both countries, but whoever emerges victorious will be rewarded with a semi-final game in London. 

England will feel confident heading into this fixture after triumphantly defeating Germany in the round-of-16. Ukraine will be riding a similar wave of optimism after their last gasp winner saw them advance at the expense of a well-oiled Swedish team that were just starting to earn plaudits from fans of all ilks. 

What channel is England vs Ukraine on?

England vs Ukraine will be shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. In the United Kingdom, ITV and the BBC have split the games down the middle and have been shown roughly the same amount of fixtures so far. 

The game that will determine who Ukraine or England will play in the semi-final – the Czech Republic vs Denmark – is being broadcast early on in the day at 18:00 CET (17:00 GMT). 

Do I need a VPN to watch England vs Ukraine?

As we’ve already discussed, there are free-to-air channels all around Europe showing Euro 2020. But if you’re trying to access one of these channels outside of Europe – let’s say, for example, from Australia – you’ll get a message that’ll tell you ‘this content is not available in this country’. This is because the channels showing the games in Europe have only acquired the rights to show the tournament in the country that they operate in, not to people living elsewhere, so block them from accessing it. And, like many places across the globe, Australians can only watch the games on a pay-TV channel – Optus Sport – which requires a subscription fee. 

The reason streaming services in other countries can block you from accessing their websites is because of your IP address. Every device connected to the internet has an IP address and it reveals things about your device like its approximate geographical location. So, streaming services like the BBC can just block all non-UK IP addresses from watching any of their content. 

Without a VPN, the only option is to pay a hefty subscription fee to a pay-TV service in your country. But downloading one will mean you can access whatever channel you want, from anywhere in the world. A VPN provider will reroute all your traffic through one of their many private servers dotted across the world, masking your IP address in the process. If you attempt to access the BBC, for example, the website will see the IP address of the server you’ve connected through, not your device. So, as long as you pick a server in the United Kingdom, you’ll be able to stream the games they’re showing safely, legally, and for free! 

Stream England vs Ukraine online for free

Despite many dodgy websites claiming they can, A VPN is really the only way to stream the Euros legally and for free. You may be thinking I’m trying to pull a fast one here – after all, a good VPN like ExpressVPN costs money. Well, that’s true – but they also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, which means you can claim a refund within that time period if you aren’t happy with their product.

This is great news if you’re just looking for a way to watch the tournament because it’s only on for another ten or so days! So, you can just download it, use it for the remaining games, and then claim you’re money back if you want to! This means, beyond the tournament, you won’t incur any real costs – so technically, it’s as good as free.

On the face of it, this might look like an odd sales tactic from ExpressVPN. In fact, it’s just a company confident in its product with the evidence to back it up. The truth is, many customers don’t realize the true value of a VPN until they download the software. It’s not just good for finding a top-quality football stream, it can also unblock Netflix catalogs, give you an increased level of privacy online, and much much more! 

Why you should avoid illegal streams for Euro 2020

Euro 2020, like every major sporting event, will attract a lot of fans who will attempt to stream the games illegally through pirate sites and apps.

But you should definitely think twice about streaming football illegally, which can be a dangerous activity. Cybersecurity software firm Webroot recently analyzed a number of websites showing illegal streams of sporting events and found that 92% of them contained some sort of malicious content. Typically, there’s a plethora of dodgy pop-ups and ad overlays you have to skirt around just to get to the picture, and many of these are designed to get you to click on something that’ll infect your computer with something nasty. 

The other thing about illegal streaming sites is that they’re usually rubbish when it comes to picture and audio quality, and they often have a small selection of streams and it’s a gamble whether your preferred commentary language will be available. What’s more, they can literally drop at any time, so you may miss a vital moment where a goal is scored or a crucial save is made. When there are cheap, easy to use and safe options like VPNs around, streaming football illegally is just pointless. 

Quarter finals: build up 

Switzerland vs Spain 

Switzerland pulled themselves back from the brink against France and created perhaps the biggest shock of the tournament so far by beating the world champions on penalties. 3-1 down with just 10 minutes to go after Paul Pogba scored one of the goals of the tournament, the Swiss scored two goals in quick succession to send the game to extra time.

After nothing could separate the two sides in extra time, a thrilling shootout ended with Kylian Mbappe, the star of France’s World Cup victory three years ago, seeing his decisive spot kick saved by Jan Sommer. Spain were involved in their own thriller on the very same day, conceding two late goals against Croatia to send their game to extra time too. The Spanish had the edge in extra time, however, with Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal providing the goals to their team over the line. 

Spain will be pleased they’ve been able to venture further than the likes of Germany, France and Portugal in this tournament, and will see this as an excellent opportunity to reach the semi-finals of a tournament no one has really given them a chance in. Despite being one of the poorest Spanish teams of the last two decades on paper, they’ve shown they can score goals in the past two games, scoring five against both Croatia and Slovakia. Switzerland, on the other hand, will play with nothing to lose – their victory against France marked the first time they’ve won a game in the knockout stages of a major tournament since 1938. Beating the world champions won’t do any harm to their confidence, and with players seemingly hitting form at the right time, they could give Spain a really good game of it. 

Belgium vs Italy 

This is very much the heavyweight battle of the quarterfinals, and all the other teams involved will be glad they’ve been able to avoid both Italy and Belgium for at least one more round. Italy have looked the business since the tournament began, replicating the fine form they showed in games leading up to Euro 2020. The spine of their team, from the goalkeeper 

The Italians conceded their first goal against Austria in a contest that was more hotly contested than many anticipated, however, with Italy relying on goals from two substitutes to get them over the line. They are yet to face a team with the attacking prowess of Belgium too, which will be a real test of their mettle. A win will cement them as tournament favourites and will give them the impetus they need to reach the final and, in terms of results, they look more than capable. 

Belgium – and maybe England – are probably the only two sides left in the tournament that would give themselves a real chance against this Italian outfit. Romelu Lukaku is a unique player that allows Belgium to maximise the efficacy of their 3-4-3 formation, leaving the big striker up top on his own to collect long balls and hold up play. The fact he’s tall, strong, fast and a great link up player gives the team a different dimension. Stick the best passer in the world, Kevin De Bruyne, in behind him, and that’s a combination that can win tournaments. This game will be a fascinating match up between a a gold generation of Belgian players who may never get a better opportunity to reach a final of a major international tournament, and an Italian team who are looking more and more like they could win the entire competition every time they play. 

Czech Republic vs Denmark

The Czech Republic’s remarkable win against the Netherlands was ultimately overshadowed by Spain and Switzerland’s dramatic victories, but the Czech’s should be given full credit for reaching the last eight of Euro 2020 after finishing third in Group D. They’ve proven to be a well-organised unit that’s difficult to break down, and Bayern Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick is leading the line well having scored in three out of four of his country’s games. They’ve not exactly had the easiest string of games either; World Cup finalists Croatia, an England side that recently disposed of Germany and a Holland team that won all three of their group games. 

Denmark have also played quality opposition on the way to the last eight, losing in the group stage to Belgium in a game they were unlucky to not get anything from. The way they vanquished both the Russian and Welsh teams – scoring four goals in each game – was incredibly impressive. The Danish players look like they’ve been playing with real purpose and passion since the on-pitch tragedy that struck the team in the first game. Talismanic creator Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch due to a heart attack – and is now recovering in hospital – and the way Kasper Schmeichel and Co. have responded to this horrific setback has been nothing short of sensational. It’s almost impossible to not want the Danes to do well after that horrific event looked set to derail their tournament. 

This game will be close, and could turn into a goal fest if both teams bring the same attacking verve they have over their last couple of games. 

England vs Ukraine 

England’s display against Germany marks the first time since 1966 that they’ve beaten Germany in a major international tournament. Often called a one-sided rivalry due to the importance English fans place on the game compared with the relative ambivalence of Germans, the victory provided a cathartic experience for a nation that have watched their team under-perform against top sides time and time again.

The mood in the English camp seems to be vastly different to tournaments of old, which has typically been beset by club rivalries, player-manager tensions and a lack of a real footballing identity on the pitch. This time round, the players are pooled from a diverse range of Premier League and European clubs and many have never been to an international tournament before. This perhaps explains the carefree performances of players like Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish, unphased by the weight of past failures. But there also seems to be a genuine step up in quality across the squad, with boss Gareth Southgate’s main dilemma being which one of his many, top quality attackers will make the starting XI.

Other reasons to expect big things include inspiring individual performances from players that haven’t had the best seasons, such as Jordan Pickford and Raheem Sterling, as well as Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson’s return to fitness. Another encouraging plus is Southgate’s pre and in-game decisions, relating to both tactics and personnel. Despite huge amounts of stick for the squad he picked and his formation changes, he seems to have made the right call at every corner so far. 

Ukraine are no slouches though, and underestimating them could prove to be England’s downfall. They’ve never been to this stage of an international tournament before, but have genuine quality in their squad and the mental strength to fight tooth and nail to the very end against the best teams in the tournament. Although they ultimately didn’t get any points out of the game due to conceding a late equaliser, they came back from two goals down against the Netherlands in the group stage, stuck a couple past Macedonia and their last-minute winner against Sweden was well deserved. Aware of England’s quality in attack, they may not venture forward as much as they did against Sweden and may approach the game in a more opportunistic, counter-attacking mindset, something England haven’t really come up against yet.

Euro 2020 Quarter finals: the fixtures 

Fixture	Time	Date	Location
Switzerland vs Spain	18:00 CET/17:00 GMT	2 July	St. P’burg
Belgium vs Italy	21:00 CET/20:00 GMT	2 July	Munich
Czech Rep. vs Denmark	18:00 CET/17:00 GMT	3 July	Baku
England vs Ukraine	21:00 CET/20:00 GMT	3 July	Rome