As most of the entire world knows, the FIFA World Cup 2014 starts at the end of this week. This time, the world's most followed sporting event is happening at the height of the digital age, and there are literally hundreds of apps available to follow the action. Here's a rundown of the best FIFA World Cup 2014 apps.

Simply the Best: WatchESPN

If you want to catch every World Cup 2014 match live or full-length on demand, on Android, iOS, Windows 8 or through any number of streaming devices, including Apple TV, Roku and the recently added Chromecast, WatchESPN has you covered.

There's a big caveat: You need to subscribe to a pay TV (cable, satellite or fiber) option that caries ESPN networks. Here's a list of pay TV networks that work with WatchESPN:

- AT&T U-verse
- Bright House Networks
- Charter
- Comcast XFINITY
- Cox
- DISH
- Google Fiber
- Midcontinent Communications
- Optimum
- Time Warner Cable
- Verizon FiOS TV

And obviously you have to be in the U.S. (If you live in Canada, the CBC's 2014 FIFA World Cup app for iOS and Android will let you stream for free, and in the U.K., the BBC Sport App for Connected TV will let you stream up to 15 simultaneous live events in HD across hundreds of platforms).

But if in the U.S. and you have the right setup, WatchESPN is simply the best way to keep up on the World Cup. The network, and app, will be streaming every single one of the 64 matches, but make sure you're connected to WiFi because you could incur some hefty fees if you tried streaming every single match with your wireless data plan.

The Best's Companion App: ESPN FC

If you have ESPN, then getting the ESPN FC app to go along with your WatchESPN is a must. It will have video interviews, highlights, news, stats, schedules and a Twitter stream made up of handpicked soccer pundits, managers and players.

The only caveat here -- besides the fact that you need to subscribe to a pay TV ESPN providers -- is that you need to create an account to pick and follow favorite teams. ESPN FC is available for Android and iOS.

The Official FIFA App: Great, If It Keeps Working

FIFA has an official app that it calls "the most comprehensive football app on the planet." The app, available for iPhone, iPad and Android, is much like the organization itself: indispensable and of great value but also plagued by bugs, bad reviews and a not-so-stellar record to date.


As long as FIFA can keep its app from crashing, this free app is a must-have, especially if you don't subscribe to pay TV. The app gives you the latest news on the tournament along with "minute-by-minute action" live updates when the matches begin. But it's missing some features like news filters for favorite teams, alerts and the ability to run smoothly on older Android devices. Still, if it doesn't crash, the FIFA App will be a go-to for soccer fans.

Companion to FIFA: FIFATV on YouTube

This technically isn't an app, but if you want to see video coverage of FIFA events, roundups, highlights, top 10 videos and other great streaming features on-the-go, make a quicklink on your homescreen to the FIFATV YouTube channel. Unfortunately, you won't be able to watch live streaming games, but this is probably the next best thing. And it's free!

The Best Third-Party App: OneFootball Brasil With Comprehensive Updates

In the morass of third-party apps that are basically malware or require far too intrusive permissions (making them basically spyware for your phone) -- those no-name "World Cup" apps which you should always check the reviews of before downloading and some of which you emphatically should not download ­-- there's one shining example of a FIFA unaffiliated World Cup app: OneFootball Brasil.

This app was developed by a company based in Berlin and is available for free for Android, Windows Phone and iPhone. OneFootball Brasil's strategy to get attention in the crowded field of World Cup apps appears to have been to make a solid app that runs well and is easy to navigate and provides more information than you could ever want about the World Cup.

Users can pick a favorite team and get personalized news feeds, statistics, schedules and scores, updated live. There's also a live-updated ticker of matches, videos of interviews and press conferences, pre- and postgame news coverage for each map and push notifications so you don't miss a single kick.

The OneFootball Brasil app is getting rave reviews on Google Play -- some are calling it better than the ESPN FC app -- with the only significant negative reviews, saying they wished there was more information about each squad's player and a better ability to follow certain players. Still for an unofficial, free app, OneFootball Brasil may be all you need to follow your favorite team through the 2014 World Cup.

Watch FIFA World Cup 2014 For Free -- Without a Subscription

There is one semi-reliable way to see World Cup 2014 matches if you don't live in the U.S., you're really desperate and have the right data subscription (with no local pub or eatery where your country's team is on the TV).

This is a last ditch website that can be streamed on desktop or mobile, but (WARNING!) if you watch the wrong stream that's outside of your local media provider's territory (See FIFA's Official Media Rights Licensees page for details on your area), you're doing it illegally. And that is not recommended at all.

The site is called Wiziwig.tv, and it has a pretty nicely compiled list of FIFA World Cup 2014 streams, all set up and ready to go, according to the tournament schedule.

(The site also carries live streams of lots of other sports.) Of course, because some users will undoubtedly use the site for illegal streaming, who knows how long it will stay up. But it's there if no non-digital options are available.

Just be careful to read FIFA's Media Rights page and make sure you're streaming within media rights law -- you never know what enormous, pay-the-rest-of-your-life lawsuit might be levied against you if you're the unlucky one FIFA or a copyright troll chooses to make an example of. In most cases, it's better just to walk down to the corner and watch your team with friends and neighbors.

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