Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham live stream: Watch the NWSL Challenge Cup

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Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham start time and channels

The NWSL Challenge Cup final featuring Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gothams is now underway. You can watch the match on CBS; it also streams on Paramount Plus. Viewers outside the U.S. can stream the match on Twitch.

Someone will lift a trophy this afternoon as the NWSL Challenge Cup crowns a champion. The Challenge Cup is the season-opening tournament for the top women's soccer league in the U.S., pitting the Portland Thorns against NJ/NY Gotham.

The Thorns are the best in west, having made it through the group stage of the tournament without losing a match. If you follow the U.S. Womens' national team, there are some familiar faces on the Thorns, including Becky Sauerbrunn, Lindsay Horan and Crystal Dunn. The Thorns have twice won the NWSL title, but are looking for their first Challenge Cup.

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Just getting to the Challenge Cup final is a big step for NJ/NY Gotham, which changed its name in the off-season from Sky Blue FC to emphasize the club's proxmity to New York. Gotham has had a few rough years, but have started to turn things around, moving to a better stadium and featuring the talents of Carli Lloyd, Allie Long and McCall Zerboni.

How can I use a VPN to watch Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham?

If you're not in a market where the Challenge Cup is readily available, a virtual private network, or VPN, can help you enjoy live sports. With a VPN, you can find live streams for all kinds of sporting events from all around the world.

We've tested many different services to find the best VPN overall, and our pick is ExpressVPN. We like its mix of performance and customer support, and you can get a lower price by subscribing on an annual basis.

Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham live streams in the U.S. and Canada

CBS is carrying the Challenge Cup Final live on Saturday. You can stream the Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham final by heading to the CBS Sports website, though you'll need to sign in with your cable TV credentials.

There's another option, if you've given up cable TV. It will require you to sign up for a subscription streaming service — in this case Paramount Plus. The good news is that streaming service will also be the primary venue for streaming NWSL regular season matches, when those begin this month.

Paramount Plus is pretty affordable at $6.95 a month, though its library is limited to CBS and Viacom shows. If you want a broader selection of content to go with your NWSL soccer, turn to Fubo.TV, which includes CBS among its 100-plus channels. That service costs $65 a month, though.

Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham live streams in the the rest of the world

Other parts of the world can turn to Twitch to stream Portland Thorns vs. NJ/NY Gotham in the Challenge Cup Final. Streaming is free on Twitch, and the NWSL has a channel there, where it will likely stream matches during the upcoming regular season.

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Philip Michaels is a Managing Editor at Tom's Guide. He's been covering personal technology since 1999 and was in the building when Steve Jobs showed off the iPhone for the first time. He's been evaluating smartphones since that first iPhone debuted in 2007, and he's been following phone carriers and smartphone plans since 2015. He has strong opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics, old movies and proper butchery techniques. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.