Every single World Cup game is free to watch in England — all 104 of them, split across BBC and ITV. No subscription, no paywall, no excuses for missing a minute.
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, with games played across North America. That means some brutal kick-off times for UK viewers: 2am, 4am, and 5am starts are on the schedule. The more civilised 6pm, 8pm, and 9pm slots exist too, but stamina will be tested across 48 teams and over 9,000 hours of football.
When England play — and where to watch
England are drawn in Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. Three fixtures, all in the evening, and handily split between the two broadcasters.
- June 17: England vs Croatia, 9pm — ITV1 / ITVX
- June 23: England vs Ghana, 9pm — BBC One / BBC iPlayer
- June 27: England vs Panama, 10pm — ITV1 / ITVX
Croatia is the obvious benchmark game — a side England know well and have unfinished business with. Win the group and they could face Brazil in the quarter-finals in Miami on July 11, kicking off at 10pm BST. Both semi-finals follow on July 14 and 15 at 8pm, with the final on July 19 also at 8pm.
The deeper England go, the more the pub situation matters. The government has confirmed that in England and Wales, pubs can stay open until 2am for matches starting at 10pm, and until 1am for quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final starting at or before 9pm. Scotland takes a different approach — pubs there can stay open 30 minutes after the final whistle for every World Cup game shown.
Who's in the studio
ITV are broadcasting from Brooklyn, New York, with Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Gary Neville forming the core punditry team. Ange Postecoglou, Emma Hayes, and Juan Mata are also involved — an interesting mix of club management, international coaching, and former player perspective.
The BBC set up in Salford, near Manchester, with Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, and Micah Richards joined by Olivier Giroud, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Thomas Frank. Both channels share the final — it goes out simultaneously on BBC and ITV.
BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds will carry live commentary on every fixture, so there's no game you can't follow even when the TV schedule gets complicated at 3am.
Full group stage TV schedule
- June 11: Mexico vs South Africa, 8pm — ITV1, ITVX
- June 12: South Korea vs Czech Republic, 3am — ITV1, ITVX
- June 12: Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina, 8pm — BBC One, BBC iPlayer
- June 13: USA vs Paraguay, 2am — BBC One, BBC iPlayer
- June 13: Qatar vs Switzerland, 8pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 13: Brazil vs Morocco, 11pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 14: Haiti vs Scotland, 2am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 14: Australia vs Turkey, 5am — ITV, ITVX
- June 14: Germany vs Curacao, 6pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 14: Netherlands vs Japan, 9pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 15: Ivory Coast vs Ecuador, 00:00 — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 15: Sweden vs Tunisia, 3am — ITV, ITVX
- June 15: Spain vs Cape Verde, 5pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 15: Belgium vs Egypt, 8pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 15: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay, 11pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 16: Iran vs New Zealand, 2am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 16: France vs Senegal, 8pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 16: Iraq vs Norway, 11pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 17: Argentina vs Algeria, 2am — ITV, ITVX
- June 17: Austria vs Jordan, 5am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 17: Portugal vs DR Congo, 6pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 17: England vs Croatia, 9pm — ITV1, ITVX
- June 18: Ghana vs Panama, 00:00 — ITV, ITVX
- June 18: Uzbekistan vs Colombia, 3am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 18: Czech Republic vs South Africa, 5pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 18: Switzerland vs Bosnia-Herzegovina, 8pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 18: Canada vs Qatar, 11pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 19: Mexico vs South Korea, 2am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 19: USA vs Australia, 8pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 19: Scotland vs Morocco, 11pm — ITV1, ITVX
- June 20: Brazil vs Haiti, 1:30am — ITV, ITVX
- June 20: Turkey vs Paraguay, 4am — ITV, ITVX
- June 20: Netherlands vs Sweden, 6pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 20: Germany vs Ivory Coast, 9pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 21: Ecuador vs Curacao, 1am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 21: Tunisia vs Japan, 5am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 21: Spain vs Saudi Arabia, 5pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 21: Belgium vs Iran, 8pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 21: Uruguay vs Cape Verde, 11pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 22: New Zealand vs Egypt, 2am — ITV, ITVX
- June 22: Argentina vs Austria, 6pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 22: France vs Iraq, 10pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 23: Norway vs Senegal, 1am — ITV, ITVX
- June 23: Jordan vs Algeria, 4am — ITV
- June 23: Portugal vs Uzbekistan, 6pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 23: England vs Ghana, 9pm — BBC One, BBC iPlayer
- June 24: Panama vs Croatia, 00:00 — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 24: Colombia vs DR Congo, 3am — ITV, ITVX
- June 24: Switzerland vs Canada, 8pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 24: Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Qatar, 8pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 24: Scotland vs Brazil, 11pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 24: Morocco vs Haiti, 11pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 25: Czech Republic vs Mexico, 2am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 25: South Africa vs South Korea, 2am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 25: Ecuador vs Germany, 9pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 25: Curacao vs Ivory Coast, 9pm — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 26: Japan vs Sweden, 00:00 — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 26: Tunisia vs Netherlands, 00:00 — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 26: Turkey vs USA, 3am — ITV, ITVX
- June 26: Paraguay vs Australia, 3am — ITV, ITVX
- June 26: Norway vs France, 8pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 26: Senegal vs Iraq, 8pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 27: Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, 1am — ITV, ITVX
- June 27: Uruguay vs Spain, 1am — ITV, ITVX
- June 27: Egypt vs Iran, 4am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 27: New Zealand vs Belgium, 4am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 27: Panama vs England, 10pm — ITV1, ITVX
- June 27: Croatia vs Ghana, 10pm — ITV, ITVX
- June 28: Colombia vs Portugal, 00:30am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 28: DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, 00:30am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 28: Algeria vs Austria, 3am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
- June 28: Jordan vs Argentina, 3am — BBC, BBC iPlayer
