Technologies

Watch UEFA Nations League Soccer: Livestream Spain vs. Italy From Anywhere

The second semifinal sees these two European giants clash in the Netherlands.

European big guns Spain and Italy face off in this intriguing Nations League semifinal, with a showdown against Croatia in Sunday’s final awaiting the winner.

Spain have reached the last-four stage of UEFA’s secondary international competition after winning Group A2, which included Portugal, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, with this match only the third game in charge for new boss Luis de la Fuente.

Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri have reached the semifinals after finishing top of a tricky Group A3 that included Hungary, Germany and England. Having missed out on qualification for last year’s World Cup in Qatar, Italy will be determined to make amends by winning this tournament.

The two teams come into this clash with indifferent recent form, having both recorded a win and a loss during the March international window.

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live wherever you are in the world.

Italy and Spain soccer badges side by side

Spain vs. Italy: When and where?

Spain play Italy at the De Grolsch VesteStadium in Enschede, Netherlands, on Thursday, June 15. Kickoff is set for 8:45 p.m. CET local time in the Netherlands (7.45 p.m. BST in the UK; 2.45 p.m. ET or 11.45 a.m. PT in the US; and 4.45 a.m. AEST on Friday, June 16 in Australia). The final is this Sunday, June 18.

How to watch the Spain vs. Italy game online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the game locally, you may need a different way to watch the game — 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 game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if 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, UK and Canada, as long as you have 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.

Sarah Tew/CNET

ExpressVPN

Best VPN for streaming

ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 per month, and you can sign up for ExpressVPN and save 49% plus get three months of access for free — the equivalent of $6.67 per month — if you get an annual subscription.

Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Livestream the Spain vs. Italy game in the US

Thursday’s big match at the De Grolsch Veste Stadium will be available to stream on Fox Sports 1, which has live broadcast rights in the US for the remaining UEFA Nations League fixtures for this season.

Sling/CNET

Sling TV Blue

Carries Fox Sports 1 with every remaining Nations League game in the US

Among the live TV streaming services that carry local Fox Sports 1, the cheapest is Sling TV Blue at $40 per month.

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.

Livestream the Spain vs. Italy game in the UK

UEFA Nations League rights in the UK are with Viaplay. This game will be broadcast on Viaplay Sports 1, with kick-off set for 7.45 p.m. BST on Thursday evening.

Viaplay

Watch the UEFA Nations League Finals in the UK from £15

You’ll need to be a subscriber to Viaplay’s Total package to watch its UEFA Nations League Finals coverage, which is priced at £15 per month or £144 per year.

Viaplay currently has the UK broadcast rights to the United Rugby Championship, La Liga soccer, plus the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and Champions Hockey League.

Livestream the Spain vs. Italy game in Canada

If you want to stream this game live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to DAZN Canada. The service has exclusive broadcast rights to every remaining Nations League game this season.

DAZN

Watch the Nations League Finals in Canada from CA$25 a month

A DAZN subscription currently costs CA$25 a month or CA$200 a year and will also give you access to a wide range of soccer, plus Six Nations rugby and WTA tennis.

As well as dedicated apps for iOS and Android, there’s a wide range of support for set-top boxes and smart TVs.

Livestream the Spain vs. Italy game in Australia

Football fans Down Under can watch this match on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single UEFA Nations League game live in Australia this season.

Optus Sport

Watch the Nations League in Australia from AU$7 a month

With exclusive rights to screen all remaining Nations League matches live this season, as well as Premier League, Women’s Super League and LaLiga games, streaming service Optus Sport is a particularly big draw for Aussie soccer fans.

If you’re already an Optus network customer you can bag Optus Sport for a reduced price, with discounts bringing the price down to as low as AU$7 per month. If you’re not, a standalone monthly subscription to the service starts at AU$25.

Quick tips for streaming the UEFA Nations League using a VPN

With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming Nations League matches 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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, June 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 8.

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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too tough, but 1-Across might make you think of the sky, and that’s not the direction you need to go. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Org. with shooting stars
Answer: NBA

4A clue: Buildings with weather vanes, stereotypically
Answer: BARNS

6A clue: Swiss watch brand
Answer: OMEGA

7A clue: What Santa, Gandalf and Dumbledore each have
Answer: BEARD

8A clue: Pie in the ___
Answer: SKY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: «I’m bad with ___» (party excuse)
Answer: NAMES

2D clue: Start of a billiards game
Answer: BREAK

3D clue: Seeing red
Answer: ANGRY

4D clue: Timothée’s role in «A Complete Unknown»
Answer: BOB

5D clue: Feeling blue
Answer: SAD

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 8, #258

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 258, for June 8.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition isn’t too tough, but let’s hope you know the résumé of a certain NBA player to get the blue group. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Let’s go at it.

Green group hint: Signal-callers.

Blue group hint: Hoops star’s teams.

Purple group hint: Great barbecue town.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Competition.

Green group: Names of NFL QBs.

Blue group: Teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for.

Purple group: Kansas City ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is competition. The four answers are bout, contest, event and match.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is names of NFL QBs. The four answers are Baker, Bo, Dak and Tua.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams Tyrese Haliburton has played for. The four answers are Iowa State, Kings, Pacers and USA.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Kansas City ____. The four answers are Chiefs, Current, Monarchs and Royals.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 8, #728

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 8, #728.

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

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tricky. The purple category is one of those «sounds like» groups, that can be really tough to figure out. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keep at it.

Green group hint: Think Wall Street animals.

Blue group hint: Online encyclopedia subheads.

Purple group hint: $$$.