The 2026 World Cup is getting that bit more real following the draw, and we now know what games are taking place and when.
While some games will kick off at the palatable time of 17:00 BST, there will be many that don’t get underway until 05:00.
In total, there are 13 (thirteen) different kick-off times.
Here BBC Sport takes a closer look at the times games are taking place, and how often you are going to be setting an early alarm – or staying up through the night – to watch the action.
North America is a big place, and the World Cup will be hosted across 16 cities, spanning four time zones and three countries, at locations up to 2,800 miles apart.
All of that, plus the heat at that time of the year, provided an additional layer of complication when it came to deciding kick-off times.
Fifa said that the times chosen for games to begin was done so to “optimise welfare conditions for players and supporters, while enabling the widest possible global audience to follow their teams across different time zones”.
That means for viewers in Europe, some games will be played from midnight onwards because of the cities they take place in.
For example, all five of the group-stage matches in Kansas City will take place in the middle of the night UK time, with the earliest kick-off being 00:00 BST on Friday, 26 June for Tunisia versus Netherlands while the latest there is 03:00 BST for Algeria versus Austria on Sunday, 28 June.
The San Francisco Bay Area hosts two games that will kick off at 05:00 BST (Austria versus Jordan on Tuesday, 16 June and European Play-Off C winner versus Paraguay on Friday, 19 June).
There are also 05:00 BST games in Vancouver (Australia versus European Play-Off C winner on Saturday, 13 June) and Guadalupe, Mexico (Tunisia versus Japan on Saturday, 20 June).
In total there will be 35 group-stage games that kick-off between 00:00 BST and 05:00 BST, which is almost half of the 72 fixtures for that stage of the tournament.
The most common kick-off time is 20:00 BST, with 12 group-stage games taking place then.
What does the knockout stage look like?
Things start to get a bit easier for those of us who are not night owls.
Six of the 16 last-32 ties take place from 00:00 BST onwards, which drops to just two of the last-16 games and one for the quarter-finals.
Both the semi-finals and final kick-off at 20:00 BST, with the 2026 World Cup winners to be decided at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
When are England and Scotland games?
England begin their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June with that game kicking off at 22:00 BST.
Their next Group L fixture is against Ghana in Boston on 23 June and is at 21:00 BST, with their final group fixture against Panama at 22:00 BST on 27 June in New Jersey.
Scotland fans will have to stay up later to watch their games.
They begin their Group C campaign against Haiti in Boston on 13 June at 02:00 BST.
They will remain in Boston for their next game against Morocco on 19 June and then play five-times World Cup winners Brazil in Miami on 24 June, with both games kicking off at 23:00 BST.
All times BST unless stated
England – Group L
21:00, Wed, 17 June v Croatia – Dallas (15:00 local)
21:00, Tue, 23 June v Ghana – Boston (16:00 local)
22:00, Sat, 27 June v Panama – New Jersey (17:00 local)
Scotland – Group C
02:00, Sun, 14 June v Haiti – Boston (21:00 local)
23:00, Fri, 19 June v Morocco – Boston (18:00 local)
23:00, Wed, 24 June v Brazil – Miami (18:00 local)
Are there any big games overnight?
Uruguay versus Spain is one of the more eye-catching fixtures that will require some strong dedication to football watching in the early hours.
That Group H encounter takes place in Zapopan, Mexico on 27 June and kicks off at 01:00 BST.
Lionel Messi has not ruled out playing for Argentina at the World Cup and he could be in action at 03:00 BST on 28 June when his country takes on Jordan.
And finally, remind me when it all is again…
The first 48-team World Cup will be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States between 11 June and 19 July 2026.
Mexico will take on South Africa at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca in the opening match of the expanded tournament, during which 104 matches will be played in 39 days.
That game – a repeat of the first match at the 2010 World Cup – will kick off at 20:00 BST on Thursday, 11 June – 18 days after the conclusion of the Premier League season.
The World Cup final will take place at MetLife Stadium and kick-off at 20:00 BST on 19 July.
BBC
