What are the World Cup 2026 kick-off times?

The World Cup is nearly here and your easy chair is looking up at you in sweet anticipation of its new summer groove.

World Cup 2026 will be a packed affair with 48 teams taking part in a total of 104 matches between Thursday, June 11 and Sunday, July 19.

With 72 group stage fixtures followed by 32 knock-out matches across multiple time zones and four time slots, this enormous tournament will be near impossible to follow without making a plan in advance.

World Cup 2026 kick-off times

The extended World Cup format means that the group stage will have four time slots per day rather than the more traditional three, with the schedule further complicated by the sheer geographical size of the host continent.

In truth, no one time zone will be blessed with convenient kick-off times throughout the tournament. Even in the United States, Canada and Mexico, some kick-off times threaten an epidemic of heavy eyelids.

World Cup 2026 will have no fewer than 13 different kick-off times, ranging from 5:00pm to 5:00pm for viewers tuning in on British Summer Time (BST).

World Cup 2026 kick-off times around the world

World Cup 2026 matches will be played in 16 stadiums across the United States, Canada and Mexico. They're in three different countries and they've also been divided into three longitudinal segments that span the continent's four time zones: Western, Central and Eastern.

England will play their first Group L fixture against Croatia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which is in the Central zone. It's a 3:00pm kick-off locally on Wednesday, June 17, and 9:00pm BST – a different of six hours.

The matches against Ghana at Gillette Stadium and Panama at MetLife Stadium are in the Eastern zone, five hours behind BST. All three group fixtures for Scotland will be played on the USA's east coast.

World Cup 2026 kick-off times through the day

The opening fixture of World Cup 2026 will be played at Estadio Azteca between Mexico and South Africa on June 11.

Mexico City and the other Mexican host cities are seven hours behind BST. The first game, a 1:00pm kick-off locally, starts at 8:00pm in the United Kingdom.

The final of World Cup 2026 will be played on July 19 at MetLife, a 3:00pm kick-off in New Jersey that also starts at 8:00pm BST.