England World Cup 2026 fixtures: Dates, times, TV channels and how to watch

If you are wondering where you can watch England vs Argentina on Wednesday evening, the match will be broadcast live on BBC One. UK coverage starts at 7:00pm ahead of the 8:00pm BST kick-off. You can also stream the England match online via BBC iPlayer.

England are ranked among the favourites at World Cup 2026 and lived up to that billing with a scintillating second-half performance against Croatia in their first fixture. More circumspect performances followed against Ghana (0-0) and Panama (2-0) in topping Group L, before Harry Kane's late brace averted disaster in the last 32 against DR Congo to win 2-1. Then came a 3-2 last-16 win against Mexico as good as any England team has produced in history, before getting a bit lucky to beat Norway 2-1 thanks to Jude Bellingham.

The Three Lions went close more than once under Gareth Southgate. They achieved the bare minimum in winning their group, have flittered between excellence and abject rubbish. The semi-final is dripping in narrative, against defending champions Argentina at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta. For the first time, Lionel Messi awaits.

WEDNESDAY'S MATCH: England vs Argentina

• Date: Wednesday, July 15
• Kick-off Time: 8:00pm BST
• Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
• Where to Watch: BBC One
• Lineup News: Check out Wednesday's confirmed England vs Argentina starting lineups here as soon as they're announced

After topping Group L with one good performance and two indifferent, Thomas Tuchel's England delivered one more of the latter in last 32 against DR Congo but Harry Kane's late double got the job done. Superb against Mexico to win 3-2, the Three Lions got lucky against Norway in the quarters as Jude Bellingham became the first player since Diego Maradona to score back-to-back braces in World Cup knockout stage fixtures.

In short, they must improve against Argentina. Tuchel knows it, too, after his critical post-Norway comments about his side's application, if not their grit and heart. They will need mentality, technical excellence and tactical discipline to overcome Argentina, whose singular refusal to be beaten (with a side of Messi) has got them to the last four.

Jarell Quansah is serving the second match of his suspension, with Jordan Henderson's broken wrist also ruling him out. Tuchel will likely leave fit-again Reece James to come off the bench, leaving a toss up between Ezri Konsa to continue at right-back. Djed Spence excelled as a substitute against Norway. Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers are expected to start on the wings, the latter having impressed off the bench against Norway. Declan Rice has shrugged off illness to start.

Argentina have muddled their way through the knockout stages after being taken to extra time by Cape Verde and Switzerland in the last 32 and quarter-finals respectively, while benefiting from two favourable refereeing decisions in the 3-2 last-16 victory over Egypt. Yet a squad that has been together for eight years just don't know when they're beaten.

Messi leads the Golden Boot race with Kylian Mbappe on eight goals – two ahead of Bellingham and Kane – and will face England for the first time ever in a 23-season career. The Flea remains his country's most potent weapon, in a team built to get the best out of him, though Julian Alvarez's quarter-final cracker against the Swiss and Enzo Fernandez's headed winner against Egypt prove Lionel Scaloni's side are far from a one-man team.

The three-time world champions are seeking a seventh final in their history, while 1966 winners England are in their fourth semi-final after defeats in 1990 and 2018 by West Germany and Croatia respectively.

The game is at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It's climate controlled, so a stable 22C temperature in theory guaranteed throughout.

England Semi-Final Fixture and how to watch

Today's game will be the 15th meeting between the sides. England have won six, to Argentina's three, with five draws. The statistics, though, barely scratch the surface of international football's fiercest rivalry, one that backs up the old George Orwell maxim that "sport is war minus the shooting".

In five previous World Cup meetings, England won in 1962 and 1966, Argentina in 1986 and 1998, with a Three Lions win most recently in 2002. The two countries' animosity had festered since Juan Peron first came to power in the 1940s, but exploded in a football sense after Sir Alf Ramsey labelled Argentina's players "animals" in the 1966 quarter-final won by a Geoff Hurst goal.

Twenty years later, and spurred on by the still-fresh 1982 Falklands War between the countries, Argentina won 2-1 in the quarter-final thanks to Maradona's street-smart brace. The Hand of God pushed the laws of the game to their limit, the second was the greatest individual goal in history.

In 1998, David Beckham allowed Diego Simeone's gamesmanship under his skin to be sent off as Argentina won on penalties. Goldenballs extracted a measure of revenge from the spot four years later as Argentina exited in the group stage.

Most recently, in a 2005 friendly, Michael Owen's late double secured a 3-2 England win.

The rarity of the fixture, a first in nearly 21 years, plus the Falklands/Malvinas antipathy only adds to the allure with a place in the World Cup final on the line. “For Malvinas, for Diego,” chanted Messi & Co. after the quarter-final win against Switzerland.

Football simply doesn't get bigger.

The winner today will face Spain at the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey in the World Cup final, at 8:00pm on Saturday, July 19.

England's final World Cup 2026 Squad

• GK: Jordan Pickford (Everton)
• GK: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace)
• GK: James Trafford (Manchester City)
• DF: Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)
• DF: Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City)
• DF: John Stones (Manchester City)
• DF: Marc Guehi (Manchester City)
• DF: Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea)
• DF: Dan Burn (Newcastle United)
• DF: Reece James (Chelsea)
• DF: Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur)
• DF: Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen)
• MF: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
• MF: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)
• MF: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
• MF: Jordan Henderson (Brentford)
• MF: Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
• MF: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)
• MF: Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)
• FW: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
• FW: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
• FW: Marcus Rashford (Barcelona)
• FW: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)
• FW: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
• FW: Noni Madueke (Arsenal)
• FW: Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli)

Tuchel had his fair share of tough decisions to make in order to name his final squad.

Harry Kane will have been the first name on the list following the England skipper's most prolific campaign of his career, while the Bayern Munich man will be joined by tournament veterans Jordan Pickford and John Stones, who are both heading to their fifth major competition.

Jordan Henderson is back in the international picture and this will be his seventh major tournament with the Three Lions, but perhaps the more notable decisions are the players Tuchel has left at home.

Cole Palmer and Phil Foden are the victims of Tuchel's plethora of options in the No.10 position, with in-form Morgan Gibbs-White also failing to make the cut,

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw and Lewis Hall miss out at full-back, while Harry Maguire has been left at home, too, at centre-back, along with Adam Wharton, Jarrod Bowen, Conor Gallagher, Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah.

Ivan Toney is the surprise pick among the forwards, while the likes Dan Burn, Noni Madueke, Jarrel Quansah and Trevoh Chalobah, who all head to their first international tournaments.

Group L Standings

Route to the final

What does England's route to the final look like?

Well, they're nearly there. Spain's emphatic 2-0 victory over pre-tournament favourites France yesterday evening means Luis de la Fuente's European champions await the winners in the final.

If England win, that will mean a repeat of the Euro 2024 final, which La Roja won 2-1 thanks to Mikel Oyarzabal's late winner.

An Argentina win means the Three Lions will have a date with the French on Saturday night in Miami in the game no one wants to play – the third-place play-off.

FourFourTwo Prediction

England will try to limit Messi's possession by cutting off his supply line from Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister. Expect the Three Lions to be quick in transition and try to feed Bellingham in tight areas, who in turn will look to get Kane space in the box.

FourFourTwo predicts more England pain against Argentina in a 2-1 Albiceleste win, with Messi doing the damage after a late Dan Burn equaliser from a corner takes it the distance. You wanted specific? You got it.

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