FIFA World Cup 2026 Fixtures: Dates, Times, and How to Watch Every Match

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the biggest tournament in the competition's history: 48 teams, 104 matches, 39 days, 16 host cities across three countries. That's a lot more football than the 64-match editions you're used to — and a lot more chances to miss a match if your viewing setup isn't sorted before kickoff.

This post lays out the schedule the way you actually need it: the confirmed round-by-round dates, the host cities, how the new 48-team format works, and — the part most fixture articles skip — how to get every kickoff time onto one screen so you're never hunting for a stream at 89 minutes.

The tournament at a glance

How the 48-team format works

This is the first World Cup with 48 teams, and the format changed with it. Here's the structure:

• 12 groups of 4 teams. Every team plays three group-stage matches.
• The top two from each group advance — that's 24 teams — plus the eight best third-placed teams. Total: 32 teams into the knockout rounds.
• The knockout stage is a straight bracket: Round of 32 → Round of 16 → Quarter-finals → Semi-finals → Final, with a third-place play-off the day before the final.

The practical upshot for viewers: the group stage is denser than ever. On peak days you'll have four matches running, sometimes with overlapping kickoffs. If you only watch one tournament a year, this is the one where a good multi-match setup pays for itself — see picture-in-picture and multi-stream tips in the cornerstone guide.

Round-by-round dates

These windows are confirmed. Exact per-match kickoff times were set when the full schedule was published — load them into your guide (see below) rather than memorising them.

The group stage alone is 72 matches in 17 days. That's an average of more than four matches a day — which is exactly why the "where to watch" question is really a "how do I keep track" question.

The 16 host cities

Matches are spread across three countries, which means kickoff times will swing across several time zones. Plan around the city, not just the date.

United States (11 cities): Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York / New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle.

Mexico (3 cities): Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey.

Canada (2 cities): Toronto, Vancouver.

A match in Vancouver kicks off three hours behind one in New York and four behind Mexico City's evening slot. If you're following a specific team across the group stage, their three matches may well be in three different time zones — another reason to let a guide do the time-zone maths for you.

Where to watch: the broadcaster picture

Every country has its own rights holder. You'll be watching through whichever of these you already subscribe to:

• United States — Fox / FS1 (English), Telemundo / Universo (Spanish), with streaming on Peacock and Tubi.
• United Kingdom — BBC and ITV split the matches; both stream free via BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
• Canada — TSN and CTV (English), RDS (French).
• Mexico — Televisa and TV Azteca.
• India — Sony Sports Network and SonyLIV.
• Australia — Optus Sport, with select free matches on SBS.

Tuneline doesn't sell or include any of these — it's a player, not a provider. You bring the subscription you already pay for; Tuneline just plays it well. (More on that model in bring-your-own-playlist vs bundled IPTV apps.)

How to get every fixture onto one screen

Here's the part that turns a fixture list into an actual plan. Instead of bookmarking a schedule page, pull the whole tournament into your player's program guide so kickoff times, channels, and reminders all live in one place.

1. Install a player that handles a full guide

You want a player with an EPG (electronic program guide) that loads thousands of programmes without freezing — the World Cup will pack your guide with entries. Tuneline is free, runs on Mac, Windows, Linux, Android, and Google TV, and has no ads or bundled channels.

2. Add your subscription

Open Tuneline → source selector → Add Playlist, then enter your provider's M3U URL, Xtream Codes login, or Stalker Portal details. New to this? Walk through how to add an M3U playlist step by step.

3. Load the EPG before the tournament starts

Tuneline auto-discovers the XMLTV guide from most providers. For M3U sources without an embedded guide, paste your provider's XMLTV URL into Settings → EPG → Custom guide URL. Do this now, not on June 11 — guide URLs occasionally 404, and you want to find that out with two weeks to fix it. If the guide doesn't populate, our EPG troubleshooting guide has the fixes.

4. Favourite the broadcast channels

Star your Fox / FS1 / Telemundo / BBC / ITV / TSN / Sony channels — whichever apply where you are. Tuneline pins favourites to the top of the list, so when three matches kick off at once you're not scrolling.

5. Set reminders for the matches you care about

Once the EPG is loaded, every match shows up as a guide entry with its real kickoff time, already converted to your local time zone. Set a reminder on the ones you don't want to miss and the player nudges you before kickoff — no spreadsheet required.

Troubleshooting cheat-sheet

• Buffering during a key match — how to fix IPTV buffering. Nine times out of ten it's the network, not the player.
• Black screen, audio works — codec mismatch with the stream. See black screen but audio works fix.
• Guide blank or showing the wrong day — EPG not loading fix.
• Picture freezes or goes blocky — freezing and pixelation fix.

Frequently asked questions

When does the FIFA World Cup 2026 start and finish?

It runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The opening match is at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City; the final is at MetLife Stadium in the New York / New Jersey area.

How many matches are in the 2026 World Cup?

104 — up from 64 in previous editions, because the tournament expanded to 48 teams. The group stage is 72 matches; the knockout rounds are 32.

Can I get all the fixtures in one place?

Yes. Rather than relying on a static schedule page, load your provider's EPG into a player like Tuneline. The guide shows every match with its real kickoff time in your local time zone, and you can set reminders so you're not tracking 104 fixtures by hand.

Is Tuneline free, and does it include the matches?

Tuneline is free, with no ads and no paywall. It does not include any channels or matches — it's a player. You bring a subscription from a broadcaster or provider you already pay for, and Tuneline plays it.

What time will the matches be in my country?

Kickoff times vary by host city and span several North American time zones. The simplest answer: load the EPG and let the player convert every kickoff to your local time automatically, instead of doing time-zone maths for 104 matches.

Can I record matches to watch later?

On Windows, Linux, and Android, yes — Tuneline has built-in recording. See how to record live TV. For daytime group-stage matches you'd otherwise miss at work, that's the cleanest option.

The short answer

The 2026 World Cup is 104 matches over 39 days across 16 cities — too much to track on a bookmarked schedule page. Install Tuneline, add your subscription, load the EPG before June 11, favourite your broadcast channels, and set reminders. Then the fixture list lives on the same screen you watch on.

For the full pre-tournament setup, start with the cornerstone World Cup IPTV player guide. Following one team? See how to stream every Brazil match.