World Cup 2026 Schedule, Fixtures & Dates

When is the World Cup 2026?

The FIFA World Cup 2026 runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026 — 39 days of football across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The group stage fills the first two-and-a-half weeks, followed by four knockout rounds that build to the final. With 48 teams and 104 matches, there are days during the group stage when you can watch football from morning until late at night.

Round-by-round timeline

These are the confirmed stage windows. Exact dates for each team's matches are set by the official draw and the broadcast schedule.

Understanding the group stage

The 72 group matches are the heart of the opening fortnight. With 12 groups of four, each team plays three games. To keep things fair, the final round of group matches in each group kicks off simultaneously, so no team gains an advantage from knowing other results. That makes the last matchday in every group genuinely tense — a late goal somewhere else can flip who qualifies.

Remember the qualification rule: the top two in every group go through automatically, plus the eight best third-placed teams. That means even a third-place finish can be enough, so very few teams are truly eliminated before their final game. We explain the maths in our groups guide.

Kick-off windows across time zones

With venues spread from the Pacific coast to the Eastern seaboard and down into Mexico, matches are staggered across the day. Expect a steady rhythm of afternoon and evening kick-offs local to each host city. For fans in the Americas, that means plenty of prime-time football; for viewers in Europe, Africa and Asia, kick-offs land in the evening or late at night.

Because the host cities span four time zones, two matches on the same day can start hours apart in your local clock. Our time-zones guide shows you how to convert any fixture to where you are.

The road to the final

The knockout bracket begins with the new Round of 32 and narrows through the Round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals to the final on July 19, 2026 at MetLife Stadium. The third-place play-off is the day before. If you are planning your viewing around the business end, read our dedicated World Cup 2026 final guide.

How long does the tournament last?

From the opening match on June 11 to the final on July 19, the World Cup 2026 lasts 39 days — slightly longer than recent editions to accommodate the extra teams and matches without overloading the players. The group stage alone runs for more than two weeks, with multiple matches almost every day. After it, the pace of individual rounds quickens but the gaps between them give teams a few days to recover before each knockout tie.

That length is worth keeping in mind when you plan: this is a marathon, not a sprint, and pacing your viewing across more than five weeks helps you stay fresh for the biggest matches at the business end. Casual fans often dip in for the opening weekend and the knockouts; dedicated supporters follow their team's every game from the first whistle.

How to plan your matchdays

With so much football packed into 39 days, a little planning goes a long way. A few practical tips:

• Pick your priorities. Decide early which teams you are following and circle their three group games — those are guaranteed fixtures you can build around.
• Watch the final group matchday. The simultaneous kick-offs make for the most dramatic moments of the group stage, with qualification often decided in stoppage time.
• Block out the knockouts. From the Round of 32 onwards, every match is win-or-go-home, and the schedule tightens. The quarter-finals and semi-finals are concentrated into a few days.
• Mind the gaps. There are short breaks between knockout rounds, so plan your viewing — and any rest — around them.

Early planning is especially useful if you are coordinating viewing with friends across different time zones, since the same match starts at very different local times.

How to never miss a match

The simplest way to follow the schedule is in the Yacine Player app: every fixture is auto-converted to your local time, and match alerts remind you before kick-off. You can save the teams you care about, jump straight from any fixture to live scores, and watch the group tables update in real time. With 104 matches across 39 days, a schedule that thinks in your time zone is the difference between catching the games that matter and missing them. For converting kick-offs to your region, see our time-zones guide.