Latest World Cup 2026 Fixtures & Times

Euro 2024 champions Spain take on 2022 FIFA World Cup winners Argentina at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with kick-off at 20:00 BST on Sunday 19 July 2026. Both teams head into the final full of confidence, albeit for different reasons. La Roja have kept a tournament-record six consecutive clean sheets, while La Scaloneta are the tournament's top-scoring team and have scored three decisive goals after the 90th minute in the knockout stage. Who will prevail?

Meanwhile, France and England will battle it out for bronze. Both teams will be looking to make amends after disappointing semi-final defeats. France were tipped to win the competition after displaying some of the best football at the tournament. Kylian Mbappé will also be aiming to score against the Three Lions to overtake Lionel Messi in the race for the coveted Golden Boot. England looked to have one foot in the final but couldn't withstand the Argentine wave, led by captain Lionel Messi. Thomas Tuchel's men dropped deeper and deeper into their own penalty area as they tried to cling on to their narrow lead, with many criticising his defensive-minded substitutions. He will be hoping to regain the supporters' trust with a victory over Les Bleus.

See the remaining 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule

Date & Time (UK)	Match	Stage	Where to Watch
Sat 18 Jul, 22:00	France v England	Third Place Play-Off	BBC One, BBC iPlayer
Sun 19 Jul, 20:00	Spain v Argentina	Final	BBC One, ITV1, STV, BBC iPlayer, STV Player

Key dates for World Cup 2026 stages:

• Group stage matches: June 11 to June 27, 2026
• Round of 32: June 28 to July 3, 2026
• Round of 16: July 4 to July 7, 2026
• Quarter-finals: July 9 to July 11, 2026
• Semi-finals: July 14 and July 15, 2026
• Third-place match: July 18, 2026
• World Cup final: July 19, 2026

World Cup 2026 kick-off times

World Cup 2026 group matches usually start 15:00–21:00 local; that typically falls in late-evening to early-morning BST. For example, 19:00 PT (Los Angeles) ≈ 03:00 BST, and 20:00 ET (New York) ≈ 01:00 BST. You'll find group matches kicking off anywhere between 17:00 to 05:00 BST.

When is the World Cup 2026 opening match?

The opening match of the 2026 World Cup will take place on June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, featuring Mexico vs South Africa, with a kick-off time of 20:00 British Summer Time (BST).

When is the final of World Cup 2026?

The final of the 2026 World Cup will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Kick-off time is 20:00 BST.

What is the new World Cup 2026 format?

The 2026 World Cup will feature a new tournament format with 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four. Each team will play three matches in the group stage, held from June 11 to June 27, 2026. The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the Round of 32 knockout rounds starting June 28.

How many games will be played at the 2026 World Cup?

There will be 104 games played in total, an increase of 40 games.

Keep up to date with every 2026 World Cup live score this summer. We have everything you need to know about each World Cup fixture:

• Info: The core match details such as date, kick-off time (BST), stadium and match official.
• Line-ups: Shortly before kick-off, we publish the official starting line-ups and formations for both teams.
• Table: We highlight both teams within their group standings so you can easily compare the numbers of games played, points total, goal difference, goals for and against, wins, losses and draws. You can also see which teams are in positions to move to the knockout round of 32 or have a chance of qualifying as a third place runner up.
• H2H: The head-to-head record shows results of previous encounters between the two nations.