The start of World Cup 2026 is fast approaching.
The festival of football in Canada, Mexico and the United States will bring together 48 nations from around the globe and serve up 104 matches in the biggest tournament ever, following the expansion from 36 teams.
England are among those hoping to go all the way, having appointed Thomas Tuchel with the brief of winning the tournament, while Scotland are back at the World Cup for the first time since 1998 and will want to make their presence felt.
The joy of the tournament goes far beyond just the home nations’ hopes, however, it’s a celebration of the beautiful game and a stage for stars from around the world to strut their stuff.
UK viewers have been spoilt with the kick-off times at recent tournaments but, with this summer’s showpiece being played on the other side of the world, will need to prepare themselves for some early starts and late finishes at World Cup 2026.
Radio Times breaks down the dates, timings and time difference at World Cup 2026.
When is World Cup 2026?
World Cup 2026 starts on Thursday 11 June and runs until the final on Sunday 19 June.
There will be 104 matches across 39 days in what is the biggest tournament ever, following the expansion to 48 teams.
When is the opening match of World Cup 2026?
The opening match of World Cup 2026 – Mexico v South Africa – kicks off at 8pm UK time on Thursday 11 June.
The Group A clash, which features one of the co-hosts, will be played at the Azteca in Mexico City.
It will be followed by the other Group A opener between South Africa and Czech Republic, at Estadio Akron in Zapopan, which kicks off at 3am UK time on Friday 12 June.
What is the time difference at World Cup 2026?
The time difference at World Cup 2026 ranges from 5 hours to 9 hours behind UK time.
This summer’s tournament is the first to be hosted across three different countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
There are 16 host cities in total, divided into three regions – Central, Eastern, and Western – and spanning four time zones.
The time difference of each host city are as follows:
Central
- Atlanta, US (EDT) 5 hours behind UK time
- Dallas, US (CDT) 6 hours behind UK time
- Houston, US (CDT) 6 hours behind UK time
- Kansas City, US (CDT) 6 hours behind UK time
- Mexico City, Mexico (CST) 7 hours behind UK time
- Monterrey, Mexico (CST) 7 hours behind UK time
Eastern
- Boston, US (EDT) 5 hours behind UK time
- Miami, US (EDT) 5 hours behind UK time
- New York, US (EDT) 5 hours behind UK time
- Philadelphia, US (EDT) 5 hours behind UK time
- Toronto, Canada (EDT) 5 hours behind UK time
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Western
- Guadalajara, Mexico (CST) 7 hours behind UK time
- Los Angeles, US (PDT) 8 hours behind UK time
- San Francisco, US (PDT) 8 hours behind UK time
- Seattle, US (PDT) 8 hours behind UK time
- Vancouver, Canada (PDT) 8 hours behind UK time
World Cup 2026 kick-off times
In total, the 104 matches at World Cup 2026 will be split across 13 different kick-off times. In the group stages, many of the games will start at 11pm or later for fans in the UK.
The full breakdown of kick off times is as follows:
- 5pm — 5 matches
- 6pm — 8 matches
- 7pm — 1 match
- 8pm — 19 matches
- 9pm — 10 matches
- 9:30pm — 1 match
- 10pm — 7 matches
- 11pm — 9 matches
- Midnight — 6 matches
- 12:30am — 2 matches
- 1am — 7 matches
- 1:30am — 1 match
- 2am — 11 matches
- 2:30am — 1 match
- 3am — 8 matches
- 4am — 5 matches
- 5am — 3 matches
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