Technologies

How to Watch France vs. Morocco World Cup 2022 Semifinal Match

Which team will go on to play Argentina in the final?

Morocco is in the World Cup semifinals. These are words I couldn’t imagine typing at the start of the tournament, but here we are. It’s the first ever African nation to make it this far in the tournament and has already taken some incredible scalps en route. Belgium, Spain and Portugal have all fallen by the wayside, but now Morocco takes on arguably the best team in the tournament, France.

France’s talented squad is strong throughout, but its greatest threat is Kylian Mbappé. At 23 years of age, he is the tournament’s current top scorer and is surely the best player on the planet right now. Mbappé already has one World Cup and is looking to give France back-to-back wins — a huge deal, since no one’s pulled it off since Brazil in 1962.

The France-Morocco game starts on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT). The winner will play Argentina in the World Cup Final on Sunday, Dec. 18. The loser will face Croatia in the third-place game on Saturday, Dec. 17.

The remaining matches of the 2022 World Cup will be shown nationwide in the US on Peacock and Fox, which is available on numerous live TV streaming services. Outside the US, World Cup matches are being carried by other streaming services, including the BBC and ITV in the UK, SBS in Australia and TSN in Canada. But what if you’re traveling outside your home country and want to enjoy the match, or just want an added layer of privacy for streaming? There is an option that doesn’t require searching the internet for a sketchy website: You can use a VPN, or virtual private network.

Here’s how you can watch the France-Morocco game, and the rest of the 2022 World Cup, from anywhere in the world with a VPN.

When is the France vs. Morocco match?

France plays Morocco at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on Wednesday, Dec. 14.

Elsewhere in the world, the match starts at 10 p.m. in Qatar, 7 p.m. in London, and on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 4 a.m. in Tokyo and 6 a.m. in Sydney.

How to watch the France vs. Morocco match online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the match locally, that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on match day by encrypting your traffic, plus it’s a great idea for when you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, nonblackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US and Canada, as long as you’ve got a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Livestream the France vs. Morocco match in the US

The France-Morocco match is on Fox in the US, so you’ll need a live TV streaming service that carries Fox. The least expensive such service is Sling TV Blue.

Numerous other live TV streaming services carry local Fox stations as well, namely YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, DirecTV Stream and FuboTV. They all cost more than Sling TV, but they also carry more channels. Check out our live TV streaming channel guide for details.

Watch the France vs. Morocco match for free in the UK

Stream the France vs. Morocco World Cup 2022 match in Australia

In addition to the services and countries listed above, numerous other local fixtures are carrying the World Cup 2022. They include:

Argentina: TVP
Belgium: RTBF (French) and VRT (Dutch)
Brazil: TV Globo
Canada: TSN
France: TF1 and beIN Sports
Germany: ARD and ZDF
Hong Kong: PCCW
Japan: Dentsu
New Zealand: Sky
Spain: RTVE

Quick tips for streaming the World Cup 2022 using a VPN

With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — experience and success may vary.
If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the «search for city or country» option.
If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.

Technologies

With $70 Off, The Stealthy Black Apple Watch Ultra 2 Just Hit Its Lowest Price of 2025

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is a beast of a smartwatch, and this is your chance to put one on your wrist at a huge discount.

Look at anyone’s list of the best smartwatches money can buy, and you’ll find the Apple Watch Ultra 2 sitting pretty towards the top. Then there’s the black titanium Apple Watch Ultra 2, a watch that’s so stealthy you might think you’ve lost it when you check the time. Smartwatches don’t come much cooler than this one, but at the usual $799 asking price, they also don’t come much more costly. That’s why this deal that slashes the price to just $730 is well worth paying attention to, but it might not be here for long.

This deal saves you $70 off the original price without any of those pesky on-screen coupons or discount codes to deal with. But these prices are often so volatile that we can’t promise this deal will stay around for much longer. That means that ordering now is the best way to make sure you take advantage of the lowest price we’ve seen this thing sell for all year.

This new low is available on the black titanium Apple Watch Ultra 2 in a few different configurations, including those with the ocean band, trail loop and alpine loop. All you need to do is choose the one you like best and then make sure that your favorite is part pf the deal before checking out.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

No matter which band you choose, you’ll get the same Apple Watch Ultra 2, which means a large-yet-comfortable 49mm size and a gorgeous display that’s easy to read even in direct sunlight. Its size also means that it has the longest-lasting battery of any Apple Watch, so you can go longer between charges. There’s even the option to enable a low power mode to eke every last bit of juice out of it if the need arises.

Each Apple Watch Ultra 2 comes with cellular connectivity, so you can leave your iPhone at home while the corrosion-resistant titanium case is joined by a sapphire front crystal that makes it more resistant to scratches.

Like all Apple Watches, the Ultra 2 supports the same health and fitness features that have made these wearables so popular. You can track workouts, including heart rate zones and training load, among other things.

All of that and more make this the go-to smartwatch for people who live an active life and want their wearable to keep up, no matter what they get up to.

Why this deal matters

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is often discounted, but savings are harder to come by on this black titanium model. That means that any discount is worth taking note of. This $70 savings is the best we’ve seen since last year’s Black Friday fun, and this is likely the best deal we’ll see this side of Memorial Day sales.

Technologies

Everything We Know About the Star Wars: Starfighter Movie

Starring Ryan Gosling as a character new to the famed space franchise, Starfighter is set after Episode 9, The Rise of Skywalker.

There’s a new Star Wars movie coming, and with it a trip to a galaxy far, far away in a new time period. Star Wars: Starfighter is scheduled for a May 2027 release, starring Ryan Gosling (yes, Ken from the Barbie movie) as a brand new character for the franchise. We don’t know much about his role or the film yet, though director Shawn Levy revealed a bit last week during the Star Wars Celebration fan event in Japan.

«The movie is a new adventure. It’s new characters,» said Levy. «It takes place in a new period of time after the battle of Exegol, after Episode 9.»

Episode 9 refers to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which came out in 2019, and the planet Exegol was the site of a battle during the war between the First Order and the Resistance.

No one was surprised to see plans for a new Star Wars movie, given how the franchise has drastically expanded since Disney bought the franchise’s parent company, Lucasfilm, in 2012.

Fans ready for a standalone Star Wars film

The new film has excited superfans like Jimmy «Mac» McInerney, host and producer of the Rebel Force Radio: Star Wars Podcast.

«Superfans like me will be there for anything Star Wars, but I really hope Levy and Gosling will pack the appropriate punch to excite the masses,» McInerney told CNET. «I’m also very optimistic that this will be a standalone story with a solid beginning, middle and end.»

The movie will be set around five years after the events of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and it won’t follow any of the main plot lines from past films. So it’s not a prequel or a sequel, it’s a new adventure.

Mclnerney thinks the standalone nature of Star Wars: Starfighter might be a good thing.

«Sometimes Star Wars gets crushed under the weight of its existing lore, so it’s nice to know this will be a self-contained adventure,» he said. «This could provide fandom with a nice palate cleanser following the divisive sequel trilogy and propel the franchise into the future.»

For now, you can find all the Star Wars content your heart desires on the streaming service Disney+.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 25, #418

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 418 for April 25.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

CNET writers love to cover skygazing, from eclipses to the northern lights to planetary smiley faces. If you love looking up at the stars, today’s Strands puzzle is for you. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: It’s in the stars.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Skygazing.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

LATE, RENT, DRIP, DAMN, ROSE, ROSES, PRESS, DIME, TAME, TAMED, RUNT, MACE, MACES, DENT, DENTS, CANE, TALL, CENT.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you’ve got all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

SWAN, CROSS, DIPPER, HUNTER, MAIDEN, CENTAUR

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CONSTELLATIONS. To find it, start with the C that’s the first letter to the left on the top row (easy!), and wind across and down.

Toughest Strands puzzles

Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest in recent weeks.

#1: Dated slang, Jan. 21. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.

#2: Thar she blows! Jan.15. I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.

#3: Off the hook, Jan. 9. Similar to the Jan. 15 puzzle in that it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK