World Cup Quarter Final Schedule: Dates, Times & Where to Watch

World Cup 2026 Quarter-Final Schedule at a Glance

World Cup 2026 quarter-finals will be played over three days and all matches will be hosted in the US: Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Kansas City. The table above shows UK kick-off times for the quarter-final matches, but here are US local kick-off times (Eastern Time) alongside the UK kick-off times for the last eight:

• QF1 (France vs Morocco): 4:00pm (9:00pm in the UK)

• QF2 (Spain vs Belgium): 3:00pm (8:00pm in the UK)

• QF3 (Norway vs England): 5:00pm (10:00pm in the UK)

• QF4 (Argentina vs Switzerland): 9:00pm (2:00am in the UK)

As you can see, the UK kick-off times for the fourth quarter-final fixture cross into the early morning hours (2:00am) on Sunday, 12 July in the UK, even though the match is played on the Saturday evening in the US. Watch these dates and kick-offs carefully, especially if you’ll be travelling so you won’t miss the matches if you’re looking to watch them live.

Quarter-Final Fixtures in Full

Quarter-Final 1: France vs Morocco, Foxborough, Thursday 9 July

The 2026 World Cup quarter-final starts with a match between France and Morocco on 9 July 2026. This is a highly anticipated rematch from their memorable 2022 World Cup semi-final match.

Like with the previous tournament, the Morocco team, The Atlas Lions, entered the 2026 World Cup as an underdog, but after beating Canada in the round of 16, they no longer seem like a small team. However, things are about to get tougher for them as they are to face two-time World Cup champion, France. 

In the 2022 World Cup, France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semi-finals, and the France team has evolved much since then. According to Kylian Mbappe, the team has an even sharper attacking edge than the team that reached the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals.

Some strengths of France include sharp attacking options led by Kylian Mbappé, strong midfield control with Tchouaméni and Camavinga, and excellent defensive structure and set-piece organisation. For Morocco, their strengths include elite defensive shape and excellent work rate, exceptional tactical discipline, and explosive wide transition.

Quarter-Final 2: Spain vs Belgium, Inglewood, Friday 10 July

The second World Cup quarter-final match is between Spain and Belgium. To qualify for the quarter-finals, Spain secured a 1-0 victory over Portugal in Dallas, with Mikel Merino scoring a decisive goal in the 90th minute of the match. This narrow strike sent Spain into the last eight.

Spain has also been one of the standout teams throughout the group stage and knockout stage. They play with confidence, control games through midfield, and possess the most young attackers in the tournament.

Belgium, on the other hand, won 4-1 in its round of 16 match against the United States, ending the co-hosts' run in the tournament. Charles De Ketelaere led the way for the Red Devils by scoring twice before Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku scored one goal each, sending the team to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-Final 3: Norway vs England, Miami Gardens, Saturday 11 July

The World Cup quarter-final match between Norway and England is scheduled for Saturday 11 July 2026 at Hard Rock Stadium. Both teams have met 12 times prior, with the 2026 World Cup quarter-final match being the first meeting since a 1-0 friendly win for England in September 2014. For all the matches Norway has played against England, it has only won two of the matches.

But since their last meeting, Norway has evolved into a competitive team. The team has enjoyed great victories in the expanded 48-team World Cup. For instance, they finished second in Group I behind France before defeating Ivory Coast 2-1 in the round of 32. Norway also produced one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 World Cup by beating Brazil 2-1 in the last 16, with Erling Haaland scoring twice to send the team into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

England is an even stronger opponent for Norway and is often considered a top favourite. It topped Group L before beating DR Congo 2-1 in the Round of 32. England also won a dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico in the Round of 16, overcoming an overwhelming atmosphere at the Azteca Stadium and despite being reduced to 10 players. After winning against Mexico, The Three Lions became only the third team in history to beat Mexico in a competitive fixture at the popular venue.

In the Norway vs England quarter-final match, expect an intense tactical battle between England’s attacking quality and Norway’s compact defensive setup.

Quarter-Final 4:Argentina vs Switzerland, Kansas City, Saturday 11 into Sunday 12 July

Taking place at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, the fourth World Cup quarter-final sees the defending World Cup champion Argentina face Switzerland. Both teams qualified for the quarter-final on 7 July, and Argentina secured a spot in the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals after winning 3-2 against Egypt in the round of 16. The team has previously dominated two group-stage fixtures by winning against Algeria and Austria,

For Switzerland, they qualified for the World Cup quarterfinals by beating Colombia 4-3 in a penalty shootout in the round of 7 July. The teams’ current form has been built on organisation, tactical flexibility, and an outstanding defensive structure. Its goalkeeper Gregor Kobel has also been instrumental, while coach Murat Yakin has shown his squad depth by successfully adapting to injuries and using substitutes effectively during the knockout phase. The last time Switzerland advanced to the World Cup quarter-finals was in the 1954 World Cup, which they hosted.

In the past, Argentina and Switzerland have faced each other in seven senior matches. And in those fixtures, Argentina has won five times while Switzerland have 0 wins. Two head-to-head matches have also ended level. But based on Switzerland’s current form and squad depth, Argentina are facing a formidable opponent in the World Cup 2026 quarterfinals.

What Time Are the World Cup Quarter-Finals in the UK?

The quarter-final is where the 2026 World Cup truly peaks in tension. At this stage, weak teams are mostly gone, and only the elite favourites remain. And the nations compete under immense pressure for a slot in the semi-finals.

As mentioned, all four World Cup quarter-final matches will be held in the US, and are scheduled to take place in the afternoons if you’re in the US or travelling to the US during the quarter-finals. But for those of us who’ll be watching the action from the UK, the kick-off times are in the evenings, except for the last quarter-final match that will take place in the early morning. Here are the confirmed UK kick-off times in BST. 

• France vs Morocco, Thursday 9 July 2026 at 9:00pm (BST)

• Spain vs Belgium, Friday 10 July 2026 at 8:00pm (BST)

• Norway vs England, Saturday 11 July 2026 at 10:00pm (BST)

• Argentina vs Switzerland, Sunday 12 July 2026 at 2:00am (BST)

Note that there’s a five (5) hour difference between the US kick-off times (Eastern Time) and the UK kick-off times (BST). This is due to the difference in time zones. There is also no clock change in the US or the UK during the tournament period; thus, the time difference across all four quarter-final matches remains constant throughout the fixtures.

If you have not yet signed up with a bookmaker ahead of the quarter-finals, comparing the latest World Cup free bets is worth doing before the fixtures begin

Where to Watch the World Cup Quarter-Finals in the UK

In the UK, you can watch all World Cup 2026 quarter-final matches live on BBC and ITV. The two broadcasters share broadcasting rights, and you can follow the matches live on their TV channels or streaming platforms. The good thing is that both BBC and ITV are free-to-air. So long as you have a valid UK TV licence, you can watch all the quarter-final matches without extra subscriptions. Our guide on how to watch the World Cup live covers all the free TV, streaming, and mobile options across the tournament.

Here’s an overview of each broadcaster.

BBC

BBC broadcasts one of the three World Cup quarter-final matches. It will only cover the quarter-final match between Spain and Belgium. So, if you’re near a TV, you can watch the game on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, or even BBC Red Button. If you prefer streaming, you can watch the quarter-final match on the BBC iPlayer.

Even better, BBC now offers 4K UHD for the Spain vs Belgium World Cup quarter-final match. This gives you an even better viewing and streaming experience, but you’ll need to have a compatible TV and broadband speed of 40 Mbps or higher. You can also enjoy full quarter-final match replays on BBC iPlayer, up to 30 days after broadcast.

In addition, you can watch the match on the BBC Sport website and App, as well as the BBC Sport Football YouTube channel. You also get real-time live text commentary, in-game video clips, and post-match highlights on these platforms. The BBC Sport website even offers a new “3D experience” that lets you change camera angles, replay goals, and view live stats.

ITV

ITV broadcasts three of the four quarter-final matches live, including the first two picks, from its studio in New York City, United States. The matches include France vs Morocco on 9 July, Norway vs England on 11 July, and Argentina vs Switzerland on 12 July.

You can watch these quarter-final matches on ITV channels such as ITV1, ITV4, and STV. You can also stream the matches in 4K UHD on ITVX. STV Player also offers an excellent live streaming experience.

ITV also offers exclusive content, clips, and highlights for every quarter-final match on its ITV Football social media accounts, including on Instagram, X and Facebook. You can also follow ITV Sport on TikTok and ITV Sport YouTube to get highlights for the matches.

How the Quarter-Final Draw Works

Like with the round of 16, the World Cup quarter-final is a match elimination stage. Unlike the group stage where teams can share points, a clear winner is required to advance to the World Cup semi-final and the team that loses goes home.

Therefore, if a World Cup 2026 quarter-final match remains level at the end of 90 minutes plus stoppage time, the match enters the extra time and if you want to place bets on any of the quarter-final fixtures, our guide to the best World Cup betting sites covers the top UK bookmakers. The extra time in World Cup quarter-finals has 30 minutes, split into two 15-minute halves. And there’s no golden goal or sudden death; the extra time is played in full regardless of scoring.

If the match still fails to get a winner even after the extra time, a penalty shootout determines which team wins. The shootout features players from each team taking alternating shots from the penalty spot until a winner is determined. Each team has five attempts in the penalty shootout, and the team that leads wins the quarter-final match. Our World Cup knockout stage betting guide explains how extra time and penalty markets settle and what to look for when betting on matches that could go the distance.

Still, the teams may remain level even after the five kicks. If this happens, the shootout enters the ‘sudden death’ phase, where the team that scores when the opponent misses wins the match.