Stock up on coffee. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is spread across North America, and the time zone math is nobody's friend — especially if you're watching from the East Coast.
The tournament kicked off June 11, and the late-night fixtures started almost immediately. Australia vs. Turkey on June 13 from Vancouver kicks off at 9 p.m. local time — which is midnight ET. It won't be the last one. Austria vs. Jordan (June 17, midnight ET), Japan vs. Tunisia (June 21, midnight ET) — the pattern repeats throughout group play.
Three reasons games are starting this late
First: local time zones. Host cities want fans in seats and broadcasters want local audiences tuned in. Vancouver at 9 p.m. is a perfectly reasonable kickoff — it just happens to be midnight on the other side of the continent. That's a structural reality of a tournament spanning three countries and multiple time zones.
Second: game staggering. With 104 fixtures across the group stage, organizers are deliberately avoiding overlaps in the early rounds so every match gets maximum eyeballs. That's good for television ratings and good for fans who want to watch every game. The side effect is a schedule that runs from afternoon into the early hours of the morning.
Third: heat. June in the southern United States and Mexico is brutally warm. Pushing games to evening slots keeps players out of the worst afternoon heat — with hydration breaks already in play, the later windows help athletes maintain performance across a tournament that runs over a month.
The full 2026 World Cup schedule
All 104 matches are broadcast in the US on FOX or FS1, with streaming via Fox One and Fubo. Spanish-language coverage is on Telemundo (TV) and Peacock (streaming).
Thursday, June 11
- Mexico vs. South Africa (Mexico City) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- South Korea vs. Czechia (Guadalajara) — 10 p.m. ET, FS1
Friday, June 12
- Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Toronto) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- USA vs. Paraguay (Inglewood, CA) — 9 p.m. ET, FOX
Saturday, June 13
- Qatar vs. Switzerland (Santa Clara, CA) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- Brazil vs. Morocco (East Rutherford, NJ) — 6 p.m. ET, FS1
- Haiti vs. England (Foxborough, MA) — 9 p.m. ET, FS1
- Australia vs. Turkey (Vancouver) — 12 a.m. ET, FS1
Sunday, June 14
- Germany vs. Curaçao (Houston) — 1 p.m. ET, FOX
- Netherlands vs. Japan (Arlington, TX) — 4 p.m. ET, FOX
- Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador (Philadelphia) — 7 p.m. ET, FS1
- Sweden vs. Tunisia (Monterrey) — 10 p.m. ET, FS1
Monday, June 15
- Spain vs. Cabo Verde (Atlanta) — 12 p.m. ET, FOX
- Belgium vs. Egypt (Seattle) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay (Miami Gardens) — 6 p.m. ET, FS1
- Iran vs. New Zealand (Inglewood, CA) — 9 p.m. ET, FS1
Tuesday, June 16
- France vs. Senegal (East Rutherford, NJ) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- Iraq vs. Norway (Foxborough, MA) — 6 p.m. ET, FOX
- Argentina vs. Algeria (Kansas City) — 9 p.m. ET, FOX
- Austria vs. Jordan (Santa Clara, CA) — 12 a.m. ET, FS1
Wednesday, June 17
- Portugal vs. Congo (Houston) — 1 p.m. ET, FOX
- England vs. Croatia (Arlington, TX) — 4 p.m. ET, FOX
- Ghana vs. Panama (Toronto) — 7 p.m. ET, FS1
- Uzbekistan vs. Colombia (Mexico City) — 10 p.m. ET, FS1
Thursday, June 18
- Czechia vs. South Africa (Atlanta) — 12 p.m. ET, FOX
- Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Inglewood, CA) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- Canada vs. Qatar (Vancouver) — 6 p.m. ET, FS1
- Mexico vs. South Korea (Guadalajara) — 9 p.m. ET, FOX
Friday, June 19
- USA vs. Australia (Seattle) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- Scotland vs. Morocco (Foxborough, MA) — 6 p.m. ET, FOX
- Brazil vs. Haiti (Philadelphia) — 8:30 p.m. ET, FOX
- Turkey vs. Paraguay (Santa Clara, CA) — 11 p.m. ET, FS1
Saturday, June 20
- Netherlands vs. Sweden (Houston) — 1 p.m. ET, FOX
- Germany vs. Ivory Coast (Toronto) — 4 p.m. ET, FOX
- Ecuador vs. Curaçao (Kansas City) — 8 p.m. ET, FS1
- Japan vs. Tunisia (Monterrey) — 12 a.m. ET, FS1
Sunday, June 21
- Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (Atlanta) — 12 p.m. ET, FOX
- Belgium vs. Iran (Inglewood, CA) — 3 p.m. ET, FS1
- Uruguay vs. Cabo Verde (Miami Gardens) — 6 p.m. ET, FS1
- New Zealand vs. Egypt (Vancouver) — 9 p.m. ET, FS1
Monday, June 22
- Argentina vs. Austria (Arlington, TX) — 1 p.m. ET, FOX
- France vs. Iraq (Philadelphia) — 5 p.m. ET, FOX
- Norway vs. Senegal (East Rutherford, NJ) — 8 p.m. ET, FOX
- Jordan vs. Algeria (Santa Clara, CA) — 11 p.m. ET, FS1
Tuesday, June 23
- Portugal vs. Uzbekistan (Houston) — 1 p.m. ET, FOX
- England vs. Ghana (Foxborough, MA) — 4 p.m. ET, FOX
- Panama vs. Croatia (Toronto) — 7 p.m. ET, FOX
- Colombia vs. Congo (Guadalajara) — 10 p.m. ET, FS1
Wednesday, June 24
- Canada vs. Switzerland (Vancouver) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- Qatar vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Seattle) — 3 p.m. ET, FS1
- Brazil vs. Scotland (Miami Gardens) — 6 p.m. ET, FOX
- Morocco vs. Haiti (Atlanta) — 6 p.m. ET, FS1
- Mexico vs. Czechia (Mexico City) — 9 p.m. ET, FOX
- South Africa vs. South Korea (Monterrey) — 9 p.m. ET, FS1
Thursday, June 25
- Germany vs. Ecuador (East Rutherford, NJ) — 4 p.m. ET, FOX
- Ivory Coast vs. Curaçao (Philadelphia) — 4 p.m. ET, FS1
- Netherlands vs. Tunisia (Kansas City) — 7 p.m. ET, FOX
- Japan vs. Sweden (Arlington, TX) — 7 p.m. ET, FS1
- USA vs. Turkey (Inglewood, CA) — 10 p.m. ET, FOX
- Australia vs. Paraguay (Santa Clara, CA) — 10 p.m. ET, FS1
Friday, June 26
- France vs. Norway (Foxborough, MA) — 3 p.m. ET, FOX
- Senegal vs. Iraq (Toronto) — 3 p.m. ET, FS1
- Spain vs. Uruguay (Guadalajara) — 8 p.m. ET, FOX
- Saudi Arabia vs. Cabo Verde (Houston) — 8 p.m. ET, FS1
- New Zealand vs. Belgium (Vancouver) — 11 p.m. ET, FOX
- Egypt vs. Iran (Seattle) — 11 p.m. ET, FS1
Saturday, June 27
- England vs. Panama (East Rutherford, NJ) — 5 p.m. ET, FOX
- Croatia vs. Ghana (Philadelphia) — 5 p.m. ET, FS1
- Colombia vs. Portugal (Miami Gardens) — 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX
- Congo vs. Uzbekistan (Atlanta) — 7:30 p.m. ET, FS1
- Argentina vs. Jordan (Arlington, TX) — 10 p.m. ET, FOX
- Austria vs. Algeria (Kansas City) — 10 p.m. ET, FS1
The Round of 32 begins June 28 and runs through July 3, with the quarterfinals spanning July 9-11, the semifinals on July 14-15, a third-place match on July 18 in Miami, and the final on July 19 in New York/New Jersey at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
If you're building a viewing schedule — or placing futures bets based on draw brackets — the late West Coast kickoffs throughout the group stage are worth marking now. The USA vs. Turkey clash on June 25 (10 p.m. ET) and Argentina's group run are going to draw serious overnight audiences regardless of the hour.
