World Cup 2026 fixtures, match schedule, UK kick-off times and venues confirmed as England and Scotland discover schedule

England will open their World Cup bid in Dallas against Croatia in a 9pm kick-off UK time, while Scotland will face Haiti in a 2am kick-off UK time.

Thomas Tuchel’s side would have been hoping for Toronto as the selected venue for their opener, given its proximity to their second and third group games, but will begin their campaign on June 17 in Texas, following Saturday’s schedule announcement by FIFA.

England will then play Ghana in Boston in a 9pm kick-off UK time on June 23 and conclude their Group L games against Panama in a 10pm kick-off in New York-New Jersey on June 27.

Scotland’s fixtures will have their fans who haven’t made the trip to the US staying up through the night, with the first game against Haiti in the early hours of June 14, and their subsequent group games with Morocco and Brazil at 11pm UK time.

Scotland will be in Boston for the games with Haiti and Morocco (June 19), before moving on to Miami to face Brazil (June 24).

Northern Ireland or Wales will play Canada in Toronto, Switzerland in Los Angeles and Qatar in Seattle should they qualify through the play-offs, with each of their group games kicking off at 8pm UK time.

The Republic of Ireland can also qualify for the 2026 World Cup through the play-offs and could face co-hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea in Group A. Should they make it, their fans back home will also be watching games in the middle of the night – with their potential opener at 3am, the second at 5pm and the third at 2am.

The 2026 World Cup final will be on July 19 at the New York-New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium. It will kick off at 3pm local time – that’s 8pm UK time.

FIFA stated they had factored in issues such as recovery, climate and travel distances when mapping out the specific locations and kick-off times of matches.

FIFA had been considering moving some kick-off times, after extreme heat affected some Club World Cup games.

The World Cup fixture list in full

World Cup draw in full

Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, Republic of Ireland/Denmark/North Macedonia/Czech Republic

Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, Wales/Northern Ireland/Italy/Bosnia-Herzegovina

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti

Group D: USA, Australia, Paraguay, Turkey/Romania/Slovakia/Kosovo

Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curacao

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Poland/Ukraine/Sweden/Albania

Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand

Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde

Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq or Bolivia/Suriname

Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan

Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, DR Congo or Jamaica/New Caledonia

Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana

World Cup key dates

Group stage: June 11-27

Round of 32: June 28 to July 3

Round of 16: July 4-7

Quarter-finals: July 9-11

Semi-finals: July 14-15

Third-place play-off (‘Bronze final’): July 18

Final: July 19