Tokyo Olympics live streams for July 20-21: How to watch soccer and softball

One year later than expected, it's time to figure out how to watch the Tokyo Olympics live steams for Tuesday, July 20 and Wednesday July 21 (those days differ by time zone, so your mileage may vary). We say figure out how because it's a pretty complicated web of athletics, sports, channels and continents, making one wonder how we haven't gotten any better at this over time.

Below, we've got the full list of what's happening on the first full day of events, which feature the U.S. Women's Soccer (or Football, if you prefer) team going up against the Sweden team. But if you can't get up at the very early hour on American time where we can watch the game live, expect to catch replays on Peacock, among other services.

This Olympics mark a big moment for the iconic Megan Rapinoe's USWNT, which is looking to rectify the 2016 games, where they did not medal for the first time in six tournaments. The team has won the last two FIFA Women's World Cups as well, so the targets are right on their backs.

• The best streaming devices
• The NBA Playoffs live streams are almost over!
• How to watch the Tokyo Olympics without commercials

How to watch today's Tokyo Olympics live streams with a VPN

If you're away from home, or can't watch channels you need for the Tokyo Olympics, you can still get the livestreams with a virtual private network, or VPN.

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 Tokyo Olympics live streams 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.

View Deal

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 games.

How to watch today’s Tokyo Olympics live streams in the U.S.

Today (and tomorrow's) events are spread across NBC Sports Network (NBC SN), the Olympic Channel and USA Network. Here's the full schedule, including channels.

Tuesday, July 20

Softball

• Australia vs. Japan @ 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN)
• Italy vs. United States @ 11 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Wednesday, July 21

Softball

• Mexico vs. Canada @ 2 a.m. ET (NBCSN)
• United States vs. Canada @ 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN)
• Mexico vs. Japan @ 11 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Women's soccer

• Great Britain vs. Chile @ 3:30 a.m. ET (Olympic Channel)
• China vs. Brazil @ 4 a.m. ET (NBCSN)
• Sweden vs. United States @ 4:30 a.m. ET (USA)
• Japan vs. Canada @ 6:30 a.m. ET (NBCSN)
• Zambia vs. Netherlands @ 7 a.m. ET (Olympic Channel)
• Australia vs. New Zealand @ 7:30 a.m. ET (USA)

If you don't have a cable or satellite package, and have cut the cord, you can get those channels via live TV streaming services (depending on your region), including Sling TV, Hulu With Live TV, Fubo TV and AT&T TV.

Of these options, we recommend Sling TV, which starts at $35, and you'll want Sling Blue + the Sports Extra pack (an $11 per month add-on) to get NBCSN, the Olympics Channel and USA. Fubo has all of those channels, and many more, in its $65 per month package.

Sling TV: You can get USA and NBC SN in the Sling Blue package. The 30-plus channels in the lineup include AMC, CNN, Food Network, AMC, Comedy Central, HGTV and many more.

View Deal

Fubo.TV: If you love sports, you probably want to check out Fubo.TV. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front. Fubo's dozens of channels include USA and NBC SN, as well as the Olympics channel.

View Deal

How to watch today’s Tokyo Olympics live streams in the UK

Brits have it easy. All of their Olympics coverage is centralized — for free without commercials — on the BBC and its BBC iPlayer. 

That said, the Beeb doesn't list out which of the following events it will have. So, here we'll list out when Team GB will be playing. You may get many more games, consult the above listings for the overall set of events.

If you're traveling outside of the U.K. and have a valid U.K. TV license, you can still follow every single game by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN. 

Wednesday, July 21

Women’s Football:

• GB v Chile @ 8:15 a.m. BST (BBC TWO)
• Sweden v USA @ 9:15 a.m. BST (Red Button One and HD)
• Japan v Canada @ 11:25 a.m. BST (Red Button One and HD)
• China v Brazil @ 1:35 p.m. BST (Red Button One and HD)
• Zambia v Netherlands @ 3:50 p.m. BST (Red Button One and HD)
• Australia v New Zealand @ 6:05 p.m. BST (Red Button One and HD)

How to watch the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony in Canada

Sportsnet, TLN, TSN and CBC are all streaming various Olympics events online if you log in with your cable provider or sign up for a standalone package. Sportsnet costs $19.99 a month, while streaming-only TSN costs $4.99 a day or $19.99 a month.

If you're traveling out of the country, you can use ExpressVPN to access your paid-for services.

Wednesday, July 21

Softball

• Canada vs Mexico @ 2 a.m. ET on CBC
• USA vs Canada @ 8 p.m. ET on CBC

Women's Football

• Canada vs Japan @ 6 a.m. on CBC
• China vs Brazil @ 4 p.m. on TLN

How to watch the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony in Australia

Down Under, Aussies can watch the Tokyo Olympics for free on or stream it on the network’s 7Plus streaming service.

Currently out of the country? Use ExpressVPN to access your paid-for services.

• Next: The best streaming services right now