Turkey vs Italy live stream — how to watch the Euro 2020 opening game for free

Turkey vs Italy live stream Euro 2020 — image showing Ciro Immobile of Italy and Burak Yilmaz of Turkey
(Image credit: Onur Coban/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
Turkey vs Italy Euro 2020 time, date, channel

The Turkey vs Italy Euro 2020 game starts today (Friday, June 11) at 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m PT. The Opening Ceremony is expected to take place around 20 minutes before kick off. In the U.S., it's available on ESPN. In the U.K., you can watch on BBC. Full channel details below.

The Turkey vs Italy live stream is here, and it marks the start of Euro 2020 after a five-year wait. The two teams meet at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, finally signalling the beginning of UEFA's flagship football tournament a full year after it should have started. 

The pan-continental tournament will cross 11 cities and feature 24 teams battling it out for the crown. Rome is a fitting host for the opener: it's known as the Eternal City, and it's felt like an eternity for fans patiently waiting for Euro 2020 to kick off. 

Neither Turkey nor Italy will want to get off to a bad start here. The weight of being involved in an opener to a major championship rests heavily on any team's shoulders, but with home advantage behind them, Italy may be feeling it more. 

Plus, though Italy are the favorites, Turkey will feel they have a genuine chance. They head into the tournament with a youthful team and with plenty of pundits talking up their chances of possibly going far into the tournament. 

Italy, in the true spirit of the Azzurri, will also enter the competition with high levels of confidence, having not lost a game since 2018 and with a 100% record in qualifying. They'll be hoping to make a strong impression today, and where better to do it than at the heart of Rome's Olimpico in front of a home crowd. 

Plus, before the Turkey vs Italy game starts, you'll be able to enjoy the Euro 2020 Opening Ceremony, complete with a virtual performance of the tournament's official song We Are The People by DJ Martin Garrix with U2's Bono and The Edge. Opera singer Andrea Bocelli will also sing Puccini’s Nessun Dorma at the ceremony.

It all kicks off today (Friday, June 11), with the game starting at 8 p.m. BST (3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT) and the Opening Ceremony before it.

Here's how to watch the Turkey vs Italy live stream at Euro 2020 for free — and if you want to see the full fixture list, groups, TV schedule and more, head to our main How to watch Euro 2020 page.

How to watch the Turkey vs Italy live stream for free

You'll be able to find the Turkey vs Italy live stream on free-to-air television in several countries, and that's good news wherever you happen to live. 

In the U.K., the Turkey vs Italy live stream will be available for free on BBC. Though it's sharing Euro 2020 games with ITV, the Beeb has the honor of the first game. That means that if you're in the U.K. and have a valid TV licence, you'll be able to follow the game on BBC One or BBC iPlayer online.

Other countries will also have free-to-air coverage of Turkey vs Italy live streams, including TF1 in France, ARD in Germany, Telecino in Spain and RAI in Italy.

But what do you do if you're normally in one of those countries, but happen to be abroad right now? The simple solution is to use one of the best VPN services, so you can watch your favorite streaming services wherever you are.

How to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream in the US

how to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream — US flag

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Soccer fans in the U.S. can watch the Turkey vs Italy live stream on ESPN. Get that channel as part of a cable package? Then you'll be able to stream games through the ESPN website too.

If you've cut the cord, you still have plenty of options. Our pick would be Sling TV: the Sling Orange package costs $35 per month and comes with 30-plus channels including ESPN. Oh, and Sling is also offering a 30-day trial for the bargain price of $10 right now, which is pretty good timing for Euro 2020. 

Fubo.TV is another option: it's more expensive, at $65 per month, but you get more than 117 channels, with ESPN among them.

If you're a U.K. citizen and have a valid TV licence, but you're in the U.S. during the tournament, you can watch the Turkey vs Italy live stream for free by using a VPN to access BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world. ExpressVPN is our favorite right now — there's more detail on that below.

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Sling TV offers two packages, both of which cost $35 a month. The Sling Orange plan comes with 30-plus channels, including ESPN. Sling is currently offering $25 dollars off the first month.

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If you love sports, you might want to check out Fubo.TV. It's got a 7-day free trial so you don't need to pay up front and has dozens of sports channels, including ESPN. 

How to watch Turkey vs Italy with a VPN

Don't worry if you're not in your home country and aren't able to watch the Turkey vs Italy live stream from wherever you are instead — you can use a virtual private network, or VPN, to tune in. With a VPN, it will seem as you're surfing the web from your home country, meaning that you can access the streaming services you're used to and already pay for. 

We've tested many VPN services and our favorite is ExpressVPN, thanks to its combination of superb speeds and excellent customer service. It also has a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out before you commit. There are also plenty of other VPN options, so check out our full list of the best VPN services before you decide.

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Speed, security and simplicity combine to make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. In our testing, we were impressed by its fast connection times and by its ability to access more than 3,000 services in 160 locations across 94 countries. A 30-day money-back guarantee is another bonus.

How to watch Turkey vs Italy in the UK

how to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream — British flag

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In the U.K., the Turkey vs Italy live stream will be available to watch for free on BBC One or BBC iPlayer. The game starts at 8 p.m. BST, although coverage will begin at 7 p.m., if you fancy taking in the opening ceremony and all the build up too.

But if you're not in the U.K. and have a valid U.K. TV licence, you can still follow every single game by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN

How to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream in Canada

how to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream — Canada flag

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If you're in Canada, you can get all the Turkey vs Italy live stream action on TSN (in English) or TVS Sports (in French), as part of a cable TV package. Cut the cord? Then you can sign up for TSN Direct for $7.99 (CAD) a day or $19.99 per month. TVA Sports Direct, meanwhile, costs $19.99 a month. 

If you live in Canada and already subscribe to TSN or TVA, but aren't in Canada at the moment, you can still watch a Turkey vs Italy live stream live stream by using one of the best VPN services.

How to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream in Australia

How to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream — Australia flag

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Aussies can watch the Turkey vs Italy live stream on Optus Sport. The service can be accessed via a dedicated mobile or tablet app, and also on Chromecast and Apple TV.

Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN to watch all the action on your Optus account, as if you were back home.

Want more on Euro 2020? Check out our full How to watch Euro 2020 hub, for fixtures, TV listings, group guides and more. 

how to watch Turkey vs Italy live stream — VPN statement

Marc McLaren

Formerly Editor in Chief (U.K.) on Tom’s Guide, Marc oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage, and was also responsible for the site’s U.K.-focused output. He is now U.K. Editor in Chief on TechRadar. Marc previously edited the tech website Stuff and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and much more. He also spent years on a music magazine, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun, and on a car magazine. An avid photographer, he likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). When he gets time, he also enjoys gaming (console and mobile), cycling and attempting to watch as much sport as any human can. He's also fallen in love with Wordle over the past six months and is the author of our today's Wordle answer column, in which he supplies hints and strategy tips for the mega-popular word game. Given he's completed every single Wordle so far and only lost once, and analyzed every Wordle answer in search of patterns, he's well qualified to help you safeguard your streak.