WASHINGTON — FIFA announced kickoff times for the tournament's 104 matches on Saturday, a day after draw expanded tournament featuring 48 countries, with the finals beginning at 3:00 pm ET on July 19th.
The start time for the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey allows for prime time viewing in continental Europe, where it will be 21:00, and in the UK, where it will be 20:00.
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The 3 p.m. average temperature over the past 30 years in East Rutherford on July 19 was 83 degrees, according to AccuWeather.
Nine of the 10 World Cup finals from 1978 to 2014 started at 2-3:30 pm ET. The exception was 2002. Japanwhich began at 7 a.m. ET. The 2018 finals began at 11 a.m. ET, and the 2022 tournament championship has been moved to winter in Qatar at 10 a.m. ET.
The 1994 finale at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California began at 3:30 pm ET.
FIFA has announced the schedule and venues to accommodate travel and broadcasts.
“Let's just say it was a long night – or a short night,” said tournament director Manolo Zubiria. “As I have previously explained to some coaches, we have tried to find the right balance, given the preparation and recovery that teams have to do in this very large area, the biggest World Cup in history, 16 cities, three countries, different climates and time zones.”
Zubira said the goals included “trying to minimize the travel of teams and fans to see their teams play, and obviously trying to understand how best to present this competition to the world, trying to find appropriate times to kick off matches in specific cities, taking into account some restrictions.”
The first match of the World Cup in Mexico City on June 11 between El Tri and South Africa will begin at 3:00 pm ET.
The semifinals will begin at 3:00 pm ET on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and at 3:00 pm the following day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, both stadiums have retractable roofs.
The quarterfinals will begin at 4:00 pm on July 9 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts and at noon (3:00 pm ET) the following day at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The final two quarterfinals will take place on July 11, starting at 5:00 pm at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida and 8:00 pm (9:00 pm ET) at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Of the quarterfinal venues, SoFi has a roof but allows outside air to flow in, while the other three are open-air.
On February 4 last year, FIFA announced that the final was scheduled to take place in New Jersey, and on June 12, specific matches were announced for the games of the new round of 16, round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals.
104 matches. Locked.
#FIFA World Cup Match Schedule 2026™ ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ZYofjO8z41
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 6, 2025
Seventy-eight games will be played in the United States, including everything from the quarterfinals, and 13 each in Canada and Mexico.
During the event at the Capital Hilton Hotel, FIFA also announced the venues for the 54 group stage games that did not end in Friday's draw, which determined venues only for Groups A, B and D, which includes hosts Mexico, Canada and Argentina. United States.
South Korea the only team except Canada And Mexico without having played in the USA, having played the first match in Guadalajara against the Czech Republic, DenmarkIreland or North Macedonia, will then face El Tri at the same venue and finish the round against South Africa in Monterrey.
The U.S. Men's National Team's first round matches begin at 9:00 pm ET against Paraguay in Inglewood on June 12 at 3:00 pm ET vs. Australia in Seattle seven days later and starting at 7:00 pm on June 25 at the SoFi tournament against Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo.
JapanGroup F game against Tunisia Monterrey, Mexico, will host its 1,000th World Cup match on June 20.
GermanyJune 14 first match of Group E against Curacao kicks off at noon local time (1 p.m. ET) at NRG Stadium. Curaçao has the smallest population of any country participating in the World Cup, at about 150,000 people.
“It will be held in Houston, it's an indoor venue, so no one can complain about the heat, the weather, the wind or anything else,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
