The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs for 39 days across three countries, 16 venues, and 104 matches. Whether you want to know when the tournament starts, when your team plays, or which fixtures to clear your calendar for — this is your complete reference.
TL;DR
- Tournament opens: June 11, 2026 — Mexico vs South Africa, Estadio Azteca
- Group stage: June 11–27 (72 matches)
- Round of 32: June 28–July 3 (16 matches) — new stage
- Round of 16: July 4–7 (8 matches)
- Quarterfinals: July 9–11 (4 matches)
- Semifinals: July 14–15 (2 matches)
- Third-place match: July 18, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
- Final: July 19, MetLife Stadium, New Jersey — 3pm ET
The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026 — 39 days, 104 matches, 48 teams, across 16 venues in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The group stage covers June 11–27, followed by a new Round of 32 (June 28–July 3), Round of 16 (July 4–7), Quarterfinals (July 9–11), Semifinals (July 14–15), and the Final at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey on July 19.
2026 World Cup Schedule — Structure and Dates
Here is every stage of the tournament, how long it lasts, how many matches it contains, and where matches are played.
| Stage | Dates | Matches | Venues |
| Group Stage | June 11–27 | 72 | All 16 venues (USA, Canada, Mexico) |
| Round of 32 | June 28–July 3 | 16 | All 16 venues |
| Round of 16 | July 4–7 | 8 | USA only (all regions) |
| Quarterfinals | July 9–11 | 4 | USA only (Central + Eastern) |
| Semifinals | July 14–15 | 2 | Dallas + Atlanta |
| Third-place | July 18 | 1 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami |
| Final | July 19 | 1 | MetLife Stadium, New Jersey |
| TOTAL | 39 days | 104 | 16 venues |
Important note on kickoff times: All times in this article are Eastern Time (ET), the primary reference for North American audiences. UK fans add 5 hours. Central European fans add 6 hours. Australian Eastern fans add 14–15 hours.
The Group Stage Schedule — June 11–27
How the Group Stage Works
72 matches across 17 days. Each of the 48 teams plays three group stage matches. Within each group, all four teams play each other once. The final match of each group’s group stage (Matchday 3) sees both pairs in the group kick off simultaneously.
Group stage matchday structure:
- Matchday 1: June 11–16 (first match per team, 24 total matches)
- Matchday 2: June 17–22 (second match per team, 24 total matches)
- Matchday 3: June 23–27 (third match per team — simultaneous pairings, 24 total matches)
Group Stage: Key Fixtures by Date
MATCHDAY 1 — June 11–16
June 11 (Tournament Opening Day)
- Mexico vs South Africa — Estadio Azteca, Mexico City — 3pm ET 🏟️ Opening match
- South Korea vs UEFA Playoff D winner — Estadio Akron, Guadalajara — 10pm ET
June 12
- Canada vs UEFA Playoff A winner — BMO Field, Toronto — 3pm ET 🏟️ Canada’s opener
- USA vs Paraguay — SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles — 9pm ET 🏟️ USA’s opener
- Qatar vs Switzerland — Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area — 3pm ET
June 13
- Haiti vs Scotland — Group C [venue TBC]
- Brazil vs Morocco — MetLife Stadium, New Jersey — Group C
June 14
- Netherlands vs Japan — AT&T Stadium, Dallas — 4pm ET
- Germany vs Curaçao — NRG Stadium, Houston — 1pm ET 🏟️ Curaçao debut
June 15
- Spain vs Cabo Verde — Group H [venue TBC]
- Iran vs New Zealand — SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles — 9pm ET
June 16
- Argentina vs Algeria — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City — Group J
- Austria vs Jordan — Group J 🏟️ Jordan debut
MATCHDAY 2 — June 17–22
June 17
- England vs Croatia — AT&T Stadium, Dallas — 4pm ET / 9pm UK
- Portugal vs Inter-confederation Playoff 1 winner — NRG Stadium, Houston — 1pm ET
June 18
- Mexico vs South Korea — Estadio Akron, Guadalajara — 9pm ET
- Switzerland vs UEFA Playoff A winner — SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles — 3pm ET
- Canada vs Qatar — BC Place, Vancouver — 6pm ET
June 19
- Scotland vs Morocco — Group C
- Bolivia/Iraq/Suriname vs Norway — Gillette Stadium, Boston — Group I
June 20
- Ecuador vs Curaçao — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
- Netherlands vs UEFA Playoff B winner — NRG Stadium, Houston
June 21
- Spain vs Saudi Arabia — Group H
- Belgium vs Iran — SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
June 22
- Argentina vs Austria — AT&T Stadium, Dallas
MATCHDAY 3 — June 23–27 (Simultaneous within each group)
June 23
- England vs Ghana — Group L
- Panama vs Croatia — BMO Field, Toronto — Group L
- Portugal vs Uzbekistan — NRG Stadium, Houston
- Colombia vs Inter-confederation Playoff 1 winner — Group K
June 24
- UEFA Playoff D winner vs Mexico — Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
- South Africa vs South Korea — Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
- Scotland vs Brazil — Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
- Morocco vs Haiti — Group C
June 25
- Japan vs UEFA Playoff B winner — AT&T Stadium, Dallas
- Tunisia vs Netherlands — Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
- USA vs UEFA Playoff C winner — SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
- Paraguay vs Australia — Group D
June 26
- Norway vs France — Gillette Stadium, Boston/Foxborough ⭐ Haaland vs Mbappé
- Senegal vs Inter-confederation Playoff 2 winner — Group I
- Cabo Verde vs Saudi Arabia — NRG Stadium, Houston
- Uruguay vs Spain — Group H
June 27 — Final group stage matches
- Jordan vs Argentina — AT&T Stadium, Dallas
- Algeria vs Austria — Group J
- Panama vs England — MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
- Croatia vs Ghana — Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- Intercontinental Playoff 1 winner vs Uzbekistan — Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- Colombia vs Portugal — Group K
- New Zealand vs Belgium — Group G
- Egypt vs Iran — Group G
Round of 32 — June 28–July 3
The Round of 32 is a brand-new knockout stage. 16 single-elimination matches over six days.
| Date | Match | Venue |
| June 28 | Group D winner vs Group G runner-up | SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles |
| June 28 | Group A runner-up vs Group B runner-up | Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco |
| June 29 | Group C winner vs Group F runner-up | NRG Stadium, Houston |
| June 29 | Group E winner vs best 3rd (A/B/C/D/F) | NRG Stadium, Houston |
| June 30 | Group E runner-up vs Group I runner-up | [venue TBC] |
| June 30 | Group B winner vs best 3rd (E/F/G/I/J) | BC Place, Vancouver |
| June 30 | Group A winner vs best 3rd (C/E/F/H/I) | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |
| July 1 | Group L winner vs best 3rd (E/H/I/J/K) | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta |
| July 1 | Group G winner vs best 3rd (A/E/H/I/J) | Lumen Field, Seattle |
| July 1 | Group D winner vs best 3rd (B/E/F/I/J) | Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco |
| July 2 | Group H winner vs Group J runner-up | SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles |
| July 2 | Group K runner-up vs Group L runner-up | BMO Field, Toronto |
| July 3 | Group D runner-up vs Group G runner-up | AT&T Stadium, Dallas |
| July 3 | Group J winner vs Group H runner-up | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami |
| July 3 | Group K winner vs best 3rd (D/E/I/J/L) | Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City |
Round of 16 through Final
From the Round of 16 onward, all matches are played in the United States only.
Round of 16 — July 4–7
| Date | Match | Venue |
| July 4 | Match 89 winners | NRG Stadium, Houston |
| July 4 | Match 90 winners | Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia |
| July 5 | Match 91 winners | MetLife Stadium, New Jersey |
| July 5 | Match 92 winners | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City |
| July 6 | Match 93 winners | AT&T Stadium, Dallas |
| July 6 | Match 94 winners | Lumen Field, Seattle |
| July 7 | Match 95 winners | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta |
| July 7 | Match 96 winners | BC Place, Vancouver |
Quarterfinals — July 9–11
| Date | Venue |
| July 9 | Gillette Stadium, Boston/Foxborough |
| July 10 | SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles |
| July 11 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami |
| July 11 | Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City |
Semifinals — July 14 and 15
| Date | Venue |
| July 14 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington (Dallas area) — 3pm ET |
| July 15 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta — 3pm ET |
Final Week — July 18–19
Third-place match — July 18 Hard Rock Stadium, Miami — 5pm ET.
Final — July 19 MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey — 3pm ET.
Broadcasters: How to Watch
Ensure you don’t miss a minute of the 104 matches. Official broadcast rights for 2026 are assigned as follows:
- United States: FOX Sports (English), Telemundo/Peacock (Spanish).
- Canada: CTV, TSN, RDS.
- Mexico: Televisa, TV Azteca, TUDN.
- United Kingdom: BBC and ITV (All matches free-to-air).
- Australia: SBS.
Global Kickoff Time Converter
Matches span four North American time zones. Use this reference for standard afternoon and evening windows:
| ET (New York) | PT (Los Angeles) | BST (London) | CET (Paris/Berlin) | AEST (Sydney) |
| 1:00 PM | 10:00 AM | 6:00 PM | 7:00 PM | 3:00 AM (+1 Day) |
| 4:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 9:00 PM | 10:00 PM | 6:00 AM (+1 Day) |
| 9:00 PM | 6:00 PM | 2:00 AM (+1 Day) | 3:00 AM (+1 Day) | 11:00 AM (+1 Day) |
Must-Watch Fixtures — The Schedule Highlights
⭐ France vs Norway — June 26, Gillette Stadium
Kylian Mbappé against Erling Haaland. One of the most anticipated individual match-ups in World Cup history.
⭐ England vs Croatia — June 17, AT&T Stadium
A rematch of the 2018 semifinal. Luka Modrić’s final World Cup chapter against an evolved England squad.
⭐ USA vs Paraguay — June 12, SoFi Stadium
The United States’ World Cup opener on home soil for the first time in 32 years.
Changelog
- Feb 21, 2026: Removed manual TOC and anchor tags to allow for TOC plugin automation. Added Global Timezones and Broadcaster information. Corrected minor venue reference for “New York New Jersey Stadium.”
- Jan 15, 2026: Updated kickoff windows for the Round of 32.
- Dec 2025: Initial full calendar release following the 2026 Final Draw.
FAQs
When does the 2026 World Cup start?
June 11, 2026. Mexico vs South Africa at Estadio Azteca, Mexico City.
When is the 2026 World Cup final?
July 19, 2026. MetLife Stadium, New Jersey — 3pm ET.
When does the Round of 32 start?
June 28, 2026 — the day after the group stage ends.
