One of the last two places on offer for the Qatar World Cup will be decided today when Costa Rica play New Zealand at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. The match will go to extra time and penalties if necessary. The stakes are sky high, so make sure you know how to watch a Costa Rica vs New Zealand live stream for free, online and on TV, wherever you are in the world.
It's kick-off and the team news is that Anthony Contreras start up front for Costa Rica instead of Johan Venegas. Bryan Ruiz is in the bench. Former Hammer Winston Reid lines up for New Zealand. Chris Wood is the target man for the All Whites.
Costa Rica find themselves in the World Cup playoffs after winning just one of their first seven qualifying games and finishing a disappointing fourth behind the USA in their group. Can Los Ticos find another gear and recapture the kind of form that propelled them to the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup?
Their opponents haven't been this close to qualification since 2009 when a Rory Fallon header saw New Zealand defeat Bahrain 1-0 and qualify for their second-ever World Cup (the first was in 1982). The All whites will be hoping third time's a charm but having played just five competitive matches since the last World Cup, Fritz Schmid's men are very much the underdogs here.
Kick-off in this pivotal 2022 World Cup playoff is at 7pm (BST) / 2pm (ET) tonight. Read on to find out how to watch a Costa Rica vs New Zealand free live stream, wherever you are in the world.
Watch a Costa Rica vs New Zealand live stream for free
If you're in the UK, the BBC is providing coverage of this crucial World Cup playoff. BBC iPlayer will provide a free live stream. It's a 7pm BST kick-off today for UK-based viewers.
Away from home?
Watch a Costa Rica vs New Zealand free live stream from abroad using a VPN.
We recommend ExpressVPN as it's reliable and comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. Full details just below.
Watch an Costa Rica vs New Zealand live stream abroad using a VPN
Even if you have subscribed to the relevant Costa Rica vs New Zealand live stream rights holders, you won't be able to access them when outside your own country. The services will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) can help you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, such that the servers and services you’re accessing won't be aware of what you’re doing. All the information passing back and forth will be entirely encrypted.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service such as ExpressVPN, which offers a 100 per cent risk-free money-back guarantee. If you're not happy with the service any time within the first 30 days, you can cancel with no penalties at all.
How to use a VPN for Costa Rica vs New Zealand
Using a VPN to watch Costa Rica vs New Zealand is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. ExpressVPN is the one we recommend.
2. Open up the VPN app and choose the location of the service you wish to access. For the World Cup playoff, you may wish to choose 'UK' to access BBC iPlayer.
3. Then head over to BBC iPlayer on your browser or device and enjoy the free Costa Rica vs New Zealand live stream.
If, for whatever reason, you can't get it working, then do remember that you have the comfort of a 30-day money-back guarantee with ExpressVPN. You could also try NordVPN, which also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Surfshark, which offers 24-hour assistance.
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Watch a Costa Rica vs New Zealand live stream in the USA
Soccer fans in the US can watch a Costa Rica vs New Zealand live stream on Fox Sports, which can be accessed through cable cutting services Sling, FuboTV and Hulu Live.
FuboTV's packages begin at $69.99 per month. Sling is cheaper at $35 per month. There's no free trial and you can get $10 off your first month too. There are no contracts with either service. You can cancel at any time.
Of course, Sling, FuboTV and Hulu Live are only available within the States so be sure to use a VPN if you're a US subscriber stuck abroad. We recommend ExpressVPN as it's reliable and comes with a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
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