The 2026 FIFA World Cup, running from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Mexico and Canada, will feature 13 different kickoff times due to matches being held in four North American time zones: Eastern (GMT-4), Central (GMT-5), Mountain (GMT-6) and Pacific (GMT-7).
For European fans, most group-stage matches (35 out of 52) will kick off between midnight and 5 a.m. British Summer Time (BST), or 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST). Specifically, the latest matches may start at midnight in the UK, 1 a.m. in Germany, Spain, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands; others at 3 a.m. BST/4 a.m. CEST, or 5 a.m. BST/6 a.m. CEST. A highlight is that the semi-finals and final will be played at 8 p.m. BST/9 p.m. CEST — prime television hours. The tournament features 16 European teams, including title contenders Spain, France and England.
For Middle Eastern viewers, the majority of 2026 World Cup matches will take place between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Qatar time (GMT+3), or 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. UAE time. Some matches are scheduled in the prime-time slot of 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The semi-finals and final all kick off at 10 p.m. Qatar time (11 p.m. UAE). Four Middle Eastern teams are in the tournament: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Jordan.
In Africa, the region will have a record 10 teams at the World Cup. For North African audiences — including Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco — most matches will run from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. local time. The semi-finals and final are set for 8 p.m. In South Africa, match times stretch from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Meanwhile, fans in Senegal and Ghana can watch most matches between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m.
For precise kickoff times in any time zone, fans can use Al Jazeera Sport's lookup tool.
