The 2026 World Cup is only a few weeks away, so if you’re thinking of upgrading your home setup, now is the time. With new 2026 TVs arriving in stores now, 2025’s models are at some of their cheapest prices, which means you can grab a real bargain.
But whether you’re looking at a brand-new TV or a brand-new soundbar, I’ve come up with a few TV/soundbar combos if you’re looking to overhaul your entire home setup.
Setup 1: Budget bang-for-buck
TV: TCL QM6K/C6K
The TCL QM6K, known as the TCL C6K in the UK, is a budget gem. It uses a mini-LED panel that delivers punchy colors, solid contrast with deep black levels, and strong brightness at a realistic price.
With a measured HDR fullscreen brightness of 594 nits in Standard mode for the QM6K and 706 nits in the same mode on the C6K, these TVs are more than bright enough to handle daylight viewing without distracting reflections. With games played at all hours of the day during the World Cup, that’s crucial.
The QM6K/C6K also makes for a great gaming TV when you’re not watching the World Cup. They support 4K 144Hz, FreeSync Premium, Dolby Vision gaming, and ALLM: an impressive suite of features for a TV at this price.
The QM6K/C6K’s biggest selling point is its price. A 65-inch model will set you back $699 / £649 respectively, which is a bargain for what you’re getting. This is easily the best option for the budget-conscious.
Soundbar: Sony HT-S150F
The Sony HT-SF150, known as the Sony HT-S100F in the US and Australia, is our current pick for the best cheap soundbar on our best soundbars list. Why? Because it delivers impressive depth, clear speech, and decent power and bass for a very low price: $99 / £99 / AU$199.
It also has a solid feature set including Bluetooth support for music streaming, a tidy design, and simple setup and use: all big positives for a budget soundbar.
While it’s not the most sonically diverse soundbar, it’s incredible value and will genuinely add another level to your World Cup experience by boosting commentary and crowd noise far beyond what your TV’s speakers would.
Setup 2: The step-up option
TV: Hisense U8Q
The Hisense U8QG is an excellent-value mini-LED TV. It produces rich colors and strong contrast, and has a solid feature set including both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, plus 4K 165Hz and VRR for gaming.
The U8Q also produces extremely high brightness for a TV at this price level. A measured 3,337 nits and 2,888 nits peak HDR brightness in Filmmaker Mode and Standard respectively really help highlights pop on screen, as well as producing strong perceived contrast.
With 744 nits of HDR fullscreen brightness and even 600 nits of SDR fullscreen brightness, the U8Q is more than capable of handling bright rooms—ideal for daylight World Cup games.
At $999 / £1,299 / AU$1,599 for a 65-inch model, the U8Q is sweet value for the performance it delivers and the features it comes with. If you’re looking for a big upgrade at a fair price, this is top-notch value.
Soundbar: Sonos Beam (Gen 2)
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) may be a few years old now, but it’s still one of the best all-in-one, mid-range soundbars you can buy. It delivers broad, punchy sound quality with plenty of detail. This compact soundbar is mightier than it looks.
Not only does it tick the boxes for movies, but it’s great for music too. It delivers the same detail it does for movies, providing a layered sound with strong, well-controlled bass, clear highs, and natural-sounding mid-tones.
The Beam also supports hi-res audio and Dolby Atmos, as well as Wi-Fi streaming support for better sound quality. At its usual $499 / £449 / AU$799 price it’s a great-value soundbar that can give any World Cup game an extra dimension—and occasionally it gets great deals, too. It’s great on its own, but can also be expanded with a subwoofer and rear speakers for a fuller experience.
Setup 3: The premium option
TV: Samsung QN90F
The Samsung QN90F really is the best TV for sport. Not only does it deliver high brightness thanks to its mini-LED panel, but it comes equipped with a Glare Free matte display that makes it the best TV for those in a bright room, since it completely squashes reflections even in darker scenes. Daylight sports viewing will be no problem for the QN90F.
Aside from the brightness, the QN90F has excellent motion handling. With the best settings (judder and blur adjustments set to 3), it delivers a smooth image that can help show the games from the World Cup accurately and more clearly than almost anything else on the market.
The QN90F also delivers excellent contrast and color for movies and is a gaming powerhouse with 4K 144Hz, VRR, and ALLM all supported across four HDMI 2.1 ports.
Since its launch in 2025, its price has dropped dramatically. A 65-inch set costs $1,599 / £1,399 / AU$2,899, so while it’s on the pricier end of the mini-LED market, it’s excellent value, made even better by the huge drop in price from its original $2,499 / £2,499 / AU$3,499 tag.
Soundbar: Samsung HW-Q800F
The Samsung HW-Q800F sits at the top of our best soundbars list. It delivers a robust, immersive sound with solid Dolby Atmos reproduction. Its subwoofer, a brand-new compact dual-driver unit, produces some serious bass that’s tight and well controlled.
Speaking of tight, that’s one of the Q800F’s biggest strengths. Not only is its sound immersive, it’s accurate too. Its mapping of different effects is pinpoint, and it has excellent directionality. This will do a great job with the fast-paced action of a World Cup game and the feeling of the crowd’s atmosphere exploding out of the soundbar and into the space all around the TV.
The Q800F also supports Wi-Fi music streaming and supports 4K 120Hz gaming on its HDMI-in ports. And it does all this for a relatively reasonable price, costing $799 / £599 / AU$799. While that’s getting to the pricier side of the soundbar market, it’s worth every penny.
Setup 4: The elite OLED & surround experience
TV: Samsung S95F
The Samsung S95F was one of 2025’s best OLED TVs. It delivers excellent image quality, with striking, vibrant colors and strong contrast, as well as crisp textures and refined detail. It’s also fully stocked for gaming with four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 165Hz, full VRR including G-Sync, ALLM, and HDR10+ gaming.
What sets the S95F apart from other OLEDs is its anti-reflection display. A matte coating means mirror-like reflections are reduced to haze, making it a fantastic OLED for bright-room viewing. With this TV, you can enjoy daylight sports with OLED’s color, detail, and excellent viewing angles without worrying about reflections. While mini-LED is our usual recommendation for sports, this OLED changes the game.
However, as a flagship OLED, the S95F sits in the premium price bracket. A 65-inch model costs $2,499 / £2,299 / AU$3,799, which is expensive, but if you’re after an elite World Cup experience, this OLED TV should definitely be on your list.
Soundbar: Samsung HW-Q990F
The Samsung HW-Q990F is a multi-speaker soundbar system that delivers serious power across 11.1.4 channels. Its sound is huge and accurate, creating a true Dolby Atmos experience at home thanks to its two rear speakers and subwoofer.
The subwoofer is a new, compact size but happily, none of the hefty, detailed bass has disappeared. The dual-driver sub delivers raw power which works wonders for movies. The rear speakers are excellent at delivering surround effects, and the soundbar itself delivers clear speech, punchy audio, and excellent separation.
If you’re looking for a soundbar to capture the stadium atmosphere of the World Cup, this is it. That level of performance comes at a price though. At $1,599 / £999 / AU$1,399, this is a premium soundbar.
But for the performance and features it brings, including hi-res audio and Wi-Fi streaming support as well as 4K 120Hz passthrough for gaming, the Q990F is well worth the investment if you have the budget.
