World Cup 2026 Schedule: Fixtures, Kickoff Times and How to Watch
The 2026 World Cup is the biggest in history — 104 matches across 39 days, hosted by three nations. Whether you're planning your watch parties or just trying not to miss your team's kickoff, here's everything you need to know about the schedule.
Tournament Dates: June 11 — July 19, 2026
The tournament opens on June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the same stadium that hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals. The final takes place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey — the largest stadium in the United States by capacity.
In between are five full rounds: group stage, Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final. A rest day precedes both semi-finals and the final, giving teams a full week between the semis and the title match.
Full Schedule Breakdown
Group Stage: June 11 — June 27
The group stage runs for 17 days. Each of the 12 groups plays three matchdays, with staggered kickoff times to maximize live viewership. On most days, three or four matches are scheduled. On the busiest days — June 14, June 18, June 22, and June 26 — eight matches kick off across the three host nations.
Key group-stage dates:
- Matchday 1: June 11–16
- Matchday 2: June 17–21
- Matchday 3: June 22–27
The final matchday of each group features simultaneous kickoffs — the two matches in each group start at the same time to prevent any competitive advantage.
Round of 16: June 29 — July 3
Five days, 16 matches, single elimination. Winners advance to the quarter-finals. Losers go home. The bracket starts to take real shape here.
Quarter-Finals: July 7 — July 10
Four matches across four days. The remaining eight teams fight for a place in the semi-finals.
Semi-Finals: July 14 — July 15
Two matches, two days. Four teams become two. Both matches are at 3 PM Eastern / 8 PM BST / 9 PM CEST — prime time in Europe and the afternoon in North America.
Third-Place Playoff: July 18
One match, the consolation final. Often more open and entertaining than the final itself.
Final: July 19
MetLife Stadium. 3 PM Eastern kickoff. The world watches.
Kickoff Times in Your Timezone
The 2026 World Cup spans three countries and four standard timezones: Pacific (Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco), Mountain (Edmonton, Denver, Salt Lake City), Central (Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Monterrey, Guadalajara), and Eastern (Toronto, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Mexico City).
Kickoff times range from 11 AM Eastern to 9 PM Eastern on any given day. On Floodlight, every match time automatically converts to your device's local timezone. No adding or subtracting hours — it just works.
For fans watching from Europe, the early Eastern timezone matches (11 AM ET) translate to 5 PM BST / 6 PM CEST — perfect evening viewing. The late matches (9 PM ET) come through at 2 AM BST / 3 AM CEST, so you might want to record those.
How to Watch
Broadcast rights for the 2026 World Cup are held by:
United States: Fox Sports (English) and Telemundo/Peacock (Spanish) across broadcast TV, cable, and streaming.
Canada: CTV and TSN (English) and RDS (French), with streaming on TSN+ and RDS Direct.
Mexico: Televisa and TV Azteca on broadcast, with streaming on Vix Premium.
United Kingdom: BBC and ITV share coverage, with every match available live on BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
Rest of the world: Check your local FIFA-licensed broadcaster or stream via FIFA+ in select markets.
Plan Your Month on Floodlight
Instead of bouncing between TV schedules and timezone converters, use Floodlight's fixture page as your single source of truth. Every match is listed with its date, group, teams, and kickoff time converted to your timezone. Upcoming matches show a live countdown. Finished matches display the final score.
The page works on any device and updates automatically. Bookmark it for the duration of the tournament and you'll never miss a kickoff.