England vs Austria live stream — how to watch UEFA Women's Euro 2022 opener live and for free

The England vs Austria live stream is the opening game in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, and it promises to be a thriller.

The great news is that you can watch it for FREE in many European countries, but don't worry if you're on holiday while it's on — because we'll show you how to watch from anywhere with a VPN.

England go into this tournament as one of the favorites, and with good reason — they're ranked eighth in the world, sixth in Europe, have home advantage and a history of raising their game for the big matches.

The bulk of this team, remember, finished fourth in the 2019 World Cup, and they won the prestigious Arnold Clark Cup under new manager Sarina Wiegman earlier this year by beating Germany and drawing with Spain and Canada — all top teams.

What's more, the draw has been fairly kind to them in what is a tough tournament overall. Norway are ranked 11th, today's opponents Austria 21st and Northern Ireland just 47th.

England should certainly finish in the top two and qualify for the quarter-finals, then, but they'll want to get off to a good start in front of what is expected to be a big crowd at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground. And with a team including record goalscorer Ellen White, captain Leah Williamson and wing sensation Lauren Hemp, there's every chance they'll do that. 

Austria, meanwhile, are a decent side with some good players, not least the Hoffenheim forward Nicole Billa, who's netted 43 times in 79 games for the national side — but England have to be favorites here.

Here's how they line up:

England: Earps; Bronze, Daly, Bright, Walsh; Mead, Williamson, Stanway; Hemp, Kirby, White.

Austria: Zinsberger; Wienroither, Wenninger, Schnaderbeck, Hanshaw; Puntigam; Dunst, Zadrazil, Feiersinger, Naschenweng; Billa.

Find out what happens by watching an England vs Austria live stream and don't forget to check out our full guide to how to watch UEFA Women's Euro 2022 for full fixtures, groups and more.

FREE England vs Austria live streams

How to watch the England vs Austria live stream for FREE

If you're lucky enough to live in the U.K., Austria, France, Netherlands, Spain, Italy and several other European nations then you can look forward to FREE England vs Austria live streams.

That's because free-to-air channels in those countries will be showing some or all of the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 live streams. For instance, in the U.K. you'll be able to watch every single game on BBC and the BBC iPlayer. There's a full list below.

But what if you're usually based in one of those countries but aren't at home for the England vs Austria live stream? Maybe you're on holiday and don't want to spend money on pay TV in another country, when you'd usually be able to watch for free at home?

Don't worry — you can watch it via a VPN instead. We'll show you how to do that below.

FREE LIVE STREAMS: Austria: ORF | Belgium: VRT, RTBF | Denmark: DKDR | Finland: Yle | France: TF1 | Iceland: RUV | Italy: RAI | Netherlands: NOS | Norway: NRK | Portugal: RTP | Spain: TVE | | Sweden: SVT, TV4 | Switzerland: SRG SSR | U.K.: BBC | 

England vs Austria live streams around the world

How to watch England vs Austria live streams from anywhere with a VPN

It's natural that you might want to watch the England vs Austria live stream from your home country, but what if you're not there when it's on?

Look no further than a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN makes it look as if you're surfing the web from your home country, rather than the one you're in. That means you can access the streaming services you already pay for, from anywhere on Earth. Or anywhere that has an internet connection, at least.

For instance, a Brit who's currently in the U.S. could watch the England vs Austria live stream on BBC iPlayer, even though they're not in the U.K. 

They're totally legal, inexpensive and easy to use. We've tested lots of the best VPN services and our favorite right now is ExpressVPN. It's fast, works on loads of devices and even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. 

Safety, speed and simplicity combine to make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. It's also compatible with loads of devices and there's a 30-day money-back guarantee if you want to try it out.

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Using a VPN is incredibly simple.

1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.

2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.

3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to BBC iPlayer or another website and watch the game.

How to watch the England vs Austria live stream in the US

Soccer fans in the U.S. can look to ESPN2 and ESPNU for the England vs Austria live stream. The game starts at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT.

ESPN is available through most cable packages as well as cable TV replacement services, including Sling TV, Fubo.TV, YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV.  

Our pick of these would be Sling TV: the Sling Orange package costs just $35 per month and comes with more than 30 channels including ESPN. Plus, right now Sling is offering 50% off the first month. 

As well as being available through your cable service, you can also stream the action via the ESPN app, or on the Watch section of ESPN's website. However, you'll need to authenticate with your satellite, cable or live TV provider credentials to watch any sessions. 

And remember, if you're usually based in the U.S. but aren't there at the moment, you can still watch the services you already subscribe to via a VPN such as ExpressVPN.

If you're not already a Sling TV subscriber, you'll want Sling Orange in order to watch ESPN. This costs $35/month and includes dozens of other great channels. Sling also currently offers 50% off the first month.

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Love sports? Then check out Fubo.TV. The channel lineup includes ESPN and ABC, plus other top networks including Bravo, FX and MTV, and there's a 7-day free trial available.

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How to watch the England vs Austria live stream in the UK

As you'd expect, given that the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 tournament takes place in England, coverage of England vs Austria is free to air in the U.K. 

The game will be shown live on BBC One and also streamed on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Going on holiday during the tournament? Sign up to ExpressVPN or another VPN service and you'll be able to use the services you already subscribe to. Just make sure you have a valid U.K. TV licence.

How to watch the England vs Austria live stream in Australia

Those lucky Aussies can watch the England vs Austria live stream in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 on Optus Sport.

Optus can be accessed via a dedicated mobile or tablet app, and also on Chromecast and Apple TV — plus it costs a very reasonable $14.99 AUD per month. 

An Annual Pass is also available for $139 AUD/year, but a current offer knocks that back to a bargain $99 AUD.

Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN to watch all the action on your Optus account, as if you were back home.

UEFA Women's Euro 2022 group A