FIFA World Cup kick-off times explained: How climate, time zones and other factors could have UK football fans up through the night
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Published 08/12/2025 at 12:14 GMT
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Kick-off times across the 104 games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup will range from 5pm to 5am UK time, mirroring those at the Club World Cup last summer. The tournament will be hosted across three countries - Canada, Mexico and the USA - for the first time, leading to the range of different kick-offs that have factored in weather conditions, player well-being, time zones and viewing figures.
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Three countries. Sixteen cities. Forty-eight nations competing in 104 games spanning four time zones at locations up to 2,800 miles apart.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup promises to be the biggest yet, in every sense - and that means the 39-day tournament will have football fans needing to catch up on their sleep and setting their alarms.
The expanded tournament means more kick-off slots throughout the day to ensure teams making their first-ever World Cup appearance can have the maximum number of eyes trained on their progress, in addition to the marquee fixtures that have whetted the appetite since the draw was made on December 5.
England and Scotland fans had to wait an extra 24 hours before they learnt the full details of the group stage games, including venue and kick-off time - with Steve Clarke's men set to play their opener and first match at the tournament for 28 years at 2am UK time.
With their other two games kicking off at 11pm, some supporters will no doubt be powering up on caffeine ahead of a few long summer nights ahead.
Will pub closing times be affected?
Important matters, first. They say 'it's 5pm somewhere in the world' - and that applies as much as global broadcast considerations, depending on the individual.
Football fans might be thinking what a World Cup in the States means for getting served a drink at their local.
England have discovered all their group games will all kick-off at 9pm or 10pm UK time, meaning it won't be until the knockout rounds that those watching games in pubs up and down the country will need to worry about last orders.
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England fans will be filling out pubs into the early hours next summer
Image credit: Getty Images
The Government said last week that watering holes can stay open and serve drinks until 1am if England make it to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, or the final. Since the matches in the US, Canada, and Mexico will kick off in the cooler evening hours, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood suggested extending pub opening times in the UK.
UK Hospitality chair, Kate Nicholls, said: "This news is a welcome boost for the hospitality industry. Everyone knows that if you aren’t able to attend the game itself, your local pub or bar is the next best place to do it.
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"Big sporting events always provide a sales boost for the sector and operators will be pulling out all the stops to ensure fans get the very best experience, as they cheer on the home nations."
With up to four match slots available each day during the expanded group stage, it would be logical to schedule fixtures involving the three host nations, as well as Central and South American sides, in the later kick-off windows to maximise viewing figures.
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Thomas Tuchel poses on the red carpet prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw
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Meanwhile, games featuring only European or African teams would be better suited to the earlier slots, which correspond to evening hours around the Greenwich meridian - but catering for everyone has naturally proven difficult.
The players themselves will be grateful for the later kick-offs, while supporters back home staying up until an ungodly hour might also acknowledge how the cooler temperatures make for a better spectacle.
How kick-off times will impact preparations
England have been placed in Group L, which means a later start than most nations. The knock-on effect could even mean a change of their proposed headquarters during the tournament.
It had been reported that warm-weather training was scheduled for the end of May in Florida, with Kansas then the first-choice location as a base once the World Cup was under way.
It remains to be seen if the Football Association now make changes to those plans, but England boss Thomas Tuchel said in Washington on Friday: "We had some preferred options and I think they're out of the window now, but let’s see.
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The 2026 World Cup draw in full
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"We have some people who know everything about every hotel now in the US and what is possible for us."
Tuchel's side begin their campaign against Croatia on June 17 at 10pm UK time - and in further good news for the Three Lions, the AT&T Stadium in Dallas will be fully air-conditioned, so players will be protected from the soaring temperatures.
England then move from the central region to the east coast for their final two group games, starting with the challenge of Ghana on June 23 at 9pm UK time in Boston, before facing Panama four days later at New York’s 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium with a 10pm start.
Minimising travel and prioritising player welfare
The five-hour time difference on the east coast and six to Dallas will require a period of acclimatisation for supporters watching back home, but it is relatively kind for England given Scotland's more arduous sofa schedule.
Their opener against Haiti in Boston on June 14 won't finish until 4am UK time, before they travel to Massachusetts to play Morocco at 11pm on June 19 - the same kick-off time as their final group stage assignment against Brazil in Miami, five days later.
There are several factors which have gone into FIFA's choice of four different match slots per day during the group stages, including the goal to minimise travel for teams and fans alike, whilst ensuring that players' rest and recovery is prioritised throughout the tournament.
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The full details for the 2026 World Cup are taking shape
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A FIFA statement added: "Having been drawn up in consultation with key stakeholders, including national-team coaches and technical directors, the schedule will also increase the prospect of matches being played in the best possible conditions."
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said following the draw: "We know for European teams it's obviously going to be hard in the heat, but we’ll do everything we can, and we’re looking forward to it.
"In terms of logistics, it’s going to be a difficult tournament for every team.
"The distances involved, the climate changes, the altitude changes, just provide extra challenges. But it’s the same for everybody, and you’ve just got to take that and do what you can."
In total, there are 16 cities that have been carefully chosen to host the tournament, played across three regionalised zones (east, central and west) to reduce travel for teams and fans. During the final four days of the group stage, six matches will be played each day.
To preserve the integrity of the competition, games within the same group will kick off at the same time - which again has dictated the choice of venue to ensure conditions are equal.
Baking heat and lessons learned
FIFA trialled the World Cup kick-off slots during the Club World Cup last summer, which was eventually won by Chelsea in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.
For the likes of Reece James and Cole Palmer, that will be of huge benefit as they will be braced for the sweltering conditions if England experience them later in the tournament.
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger - now FIFA's chief of global football development - spoke this month about how lessons were learnt from that tournament, where the punishing climate led to some slow-tempo encounters and several weather interruptions.
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Cole Palmer in action for Chelsea at the Club World Cup
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He said: "We learnt a lot on how to better protect the teams. After the draw, we have the places where the games will be played and as well, the timing of the games.
"We will consider a lot of the best possibilities for the teams to be protected from heat and, as well for the players’ welfare, we will have hydrating breaks during the game.
"There’s one uncertainty that we cannot master is the weather, especially in Miami, places like Atlanta where there were some problems. We will do the maximum to protect the competition and the players."
Which games will be the most challenging to watch in UK?
There should be no problems for a UK audience wishing to tune in for the opening match of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa, commencing at 8pm UK time on June 11 in Mexico City.
The likelihood, however, is that most fans in England will only find out the final score of the second match after waking up the next day as South Korea are then scheduled to face a side yet to be confirmed at 3am in Guadalajara the following morning.
Naturally, FIFA have looked to allocate games to certain timeslots that maximise the potential global audience, and there is one group match which will certainly test even the more ardent World Cup aficionado from the UK.
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Tunisia take on Japan in what will be the 1,000th match in FIFA World Cup history, played in Monterrey at 10pm local time on Saturday, 20 June - 5am back in the UK.
The Group F fixture is a rematch from the 2002 tournament, when Japan successfully reached the knockout stage for the first time in their history. For those watching in Tokyo, it will be a lunchtime affair (1pm) while the audience tuning in from Tunis will be having their breakfast (6am).
It is the fourth and final 5am UK kick-off time during the group stage, with Australia vs TBC on June 13 (Vancouver), Austria vs Jordan on June 16 (San Francisco), and TBC vs Paraguay on June 19 (San Francisco) also forcing fans to stay awake late (or wake up early).
While England and Scotland's fixtures are locked in, supporters of the Republic of Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland will all be hoping to join the party, but first they must prevail in March's play-offs which decide the final six spots.
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If Wales or Northern Ireland qualify, they will join Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.
All three games would be played at 8pm UK time.
If Republic of Ireland can navigate their play-off bracket against Republic of Ireland and either North Macedonia or Denmark, then they will play two out of their three games in Mexico in the same group as the host nation.
Like Scotland, they would play their first game at the tournament in a generation at an unfavourable hour - 3am UK time on June 12, against South Korea in Zapopan, western Mexico.
The Boys in Green would then travel to Atlanta and take on South Africa at 5pm UK time on June 18, before finishing up against Mexico in the capital south of the US border at 2am on June 25.
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World Cup 2026 Group Venues
Group A: Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mexico City (Mexico), Atlanta (US)
Group B: Toronto, Vancouver (Canada), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle (US)
Group C: Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia (US)
Group D: Vancouver (Canada), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle (US)
Group E: Toronto (Canada), Houston, Kansas, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia (US)
Group F: Monterrey (Mexico), Dallas, Houston, Kansas (US)
Group G: Vancouver (Canada), Los Angeles, Seattle (US)
Group H: Guadalajara (Mexico), Atlanta, Houston, Miami (US)
Group I: Toronto (Canada), Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia (US)
Group J: Dallas, Kansas, San Francisco (US)
Group K: Guadalajara, Mexico City (Mexico), Atlanta, Houston, Miami (USA)
Group L: Toronto (Canada), Dallas, New York/New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia (USA)
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