Thursday’s USA-Germany World Cup match promises to be one big watch party, whether you're indoors or out. That’s because a win or a tie would catapult Team USA into the knockout round. Don't fret if you’re not in Brazil; there’s any number of ways to take in the showdown from afar.
Watch It on TV at Home, at Work or at the Neighborhood Bar
Let’s just say work productivity won’t be at its highest. The game falls on a on a weekday, but that’s not going to stop millions of Americans from tuning in to ESPN (or Univision for Spanish-language coverage) for the noon ET kickoff and a chance to shout GOOAL! (Sunday’s United States' 2-2 draw with Portugal was the most-watched soccer game ever in the U.S.)
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Watch It Online
As The Associated Press reports: All of the matches are available online through the World Cup's official television networks. For English-language coverage, that's Disney-owned networks ABC and ESPN through the WatchESPN website and app. For the Spanish broadcast, it's Univision's website and Deportes app. To access the game on WatchESPN, you must have a cable or satellite TV subscription with a participating provider. You must already get the ESPN channel as part of the package. There are also plenty of apps, including Onefootball Brasil, SofaScore and FIFA's own official World Cup app, that allow you to follow your team through the tournament.
Watch It Outdoors
Virtual 12th man, anyone? Massive outdoor viewing parties are scheduled in cities big and small across the U.S. Bostonians can join Mayor Marty Walsh at City Hall Plaza, Chicago expects a huge crowd in Grant Park, a 14-by-19-foot TV is the center of the action at Power and Light District in Kansas City and Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy is hosting a watch party at the Hermosa Beach pier in California.
Be sure to check the World Cup weather forecast before venturing outsdoors
Watch It Like No Other
Want the luxury of high-definition viewing combined with the old-fashioned movie theater experience? Head on over to the Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse in Arlington, Virginia, where you can take in the game in oversized chairs while ordering a bite to eat.
On a more somber note, a Montana law firm representing a man accused of killing a German exchange student is hosting a live showing of the match on big-screen TVs in Caras Park in downtown Missoula.
And if you’re a Germany fan, the German Embassy has got you covered. It is presenting a World Cup festival in Dupont Circle Park in Washington. "We want to see fans for each country decked out in team colors fill the circle, where the match will be broadcast on large screens," the embassy says.
Can’t take the day off from work to watch the game? There’s always the off-off-chance President Barack Obama will declare Thursday a national holiday, as one petition to the White House has suggested.