The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway on Thursday, June 11, 2026 with hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in the tournament’s opening match.

The expanded tournament, which is being hosted across Mexico, the United States and Canada, features 48 teams and 104 matches, making it the biggest World Cup in history.

For Kenyan football fans, however, following the tournament live will require more than passion. The significant time difference between East Africa and North America means several matches will kick off in the early hours of the morning, with some fixtures scheduled as early as 1am, 2am, 3am and even 4am East Africa Time (EAT).

The opening match between Mexico and South Africa will be among the more convenient fixtures for local viewers, kicking off at 10pm EAT.

However, less than seven hours later, fans hoping to watch South Korea face the Czech Republic will have to wake up at 5am.

The first weekend of the tournament already presents several sleep-disrupting fixtures.

On June 13, hosts United States take on Paraguay at 4am EAT, while African football fans will be particularly interested in Morocco’s clash against five-time champions Brazil on June 14 at 1am EAT.

The same day, Haiti face Scotland at 4am before Australia meet Turkey at 7am.

Senegal, on their side, will begin their campaign against France on June 16 at 10 pm EAT in one of the standout group-stage fixtures involving an African nation.

Other major matches likely to attract Kenyan viewers include Argentina versus Algeria on June 17 at 4am, Portugal against DR Congo on June 17 at 9pm, England versus Croatia on June 18 at midnight, and Belgium against Egypt on June 15 at 10pm.

African representatives will feature prominently throughout the group stage, with South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, DR Congo, Tunisia, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde all hoping to make deep runs in the competition.

Not every match will require fans to sacrifice sleep.

Several high-profile encounters have been scheduled during favourable viewing hours, including Spain versus Cape Verde at 7pm EAT on June 15, Germany against Curacao at 9pm EAT on June 14, Portugal versus Uzbekistan at 9pm EAT on June 23, and England against Ghana at 10pm EAT on June 23.

The group stage will run from June 11 to June 27 before the tournament moves into the knockout rounds.

The Round of 32 is scheduled between June 28 and July 3, followed by the Round of 16 from July 4 to July 7.

Quarter-finals will be played between July 9 and July 11, while the semi-finals are scheduled for July 14 and July 15.

Unlike many group-stage matches, the latter stages offer more viewer-friendly timings for Kenyan audiences, with the semi-finals and the final set for 10 pm EAT.

The third-place playoff will be played on July 18, before the tournament concludes with the World Cup final on July 19.

As the month-long football spectacle begins, Kenyan fans now face a familiar World Cup dilemma whether to stay awake through the night or set alarms for the early-morning kick-offs as the race to crown the world’s next football champion gets underway.

2026 FIFA World Cup Fixtures (EAT)

Thursday, June 11

22:00 – Mexico vs South Africa

Friday, June 12

05:00 – South Korea vs Czechia

22:00 – Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina

Saturday, June 13

04:00 – USA vs Paraguay

22:00 – Qatar vs Switzerland

Sunday, June 14

01:00 – Brazil vs Morocco

04:00 – Haiti vs Scotland

07:00 – Australia vs Türkiye

20:00 – Germany vs Curaçao

23:00 – Netherlands vs Japan

Monday, June 15

02:00 – Ivory Coast vs Ecuador

05:00 – Sweden vs Tunisia

19:00 – Spain vs Cabo Verde

22:00 – Belgium vs Egypt

Tuesday, June 16

01:00 – Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay

04:00 – Iran vs New Zealand

22:00 – France vs Senegal

Wednesday, June 17

01:00 – Iraq vs Norway

04:00 – Argentina vs Algeria

07:00 – Austria vs Jordan

20:00 – Portugal vs DR Congo

23:00 – England vs Croatia

Thursday, June 18

02:00 – Ghana vs Panama

05:00 – Uzbekistan vs Colombia

19:00 – Czechia vs South Africa

22:00 – Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina

Friday, June 19

01:00 – Canada vs Qatar

04:00 – Mexico vs South Korea

22:00 – USA vs Australia

Saturday, June 20

01:00 – Scotland vs Morocco

03:30 – Brazil vs Haiti

06:00 – Türkiye vs Paraguay

20:00 – Netherlands vs Sweden

23:00 – Germany vs Ivory Coast

Sunday, June 21

03:00 – Ecuador vs Curaçao

07:00 – Tunisia vs Japan

19:00 – Spain vs Saudi Arabia

22:00 – Belgium vs Iran

Monday, June 22

01:00 – Uruguay vs Cabo Verde

04:00 – New Zealand vs Egypt

20:00 – Argentina vs Austria

Tuesday, June 23

00:00 – France vs Iraq

03:00 – Norway vs Senegal

06:00 – Jordan vs Algeria

20:00 – Portugal vs Uzbekistan

23:00 – England vs Ghana

Wednesday, June 24

02:00 – Panama vs Croatia

05:00 – Colombia vs DR Congo

22:00 – Switzerland vs Canada

22:00 – Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Qatar

Thursday, June 25

01:00 – Morocco vs Haiti

01:00 – Scotland vs Brazil

04:00 – South Africa vs South Korea

04:00 – Czechia vs Mexico

23:00 – Curaçao vs Ivory Coast

23:00 – Ecuador vs Germany

Friday, June 26

02:00 – Tunisia vs Netherlands

02:00 – Japan vs Sweden

05:00 – Türkiye vs USA

05:00 – Paraguay vs Australia

22:00 – Norway vs France

22:00 – Senegal vs Iraq

Saturday, June 27

03:00 – Cabo Verde vs Saudi Arabia

03:00 – Uruguay vs Spain

06:00 – New Zealand vs Belgium

06:00 – Egypt vs Iran

Sunday, June 28

00:00 – Panama vs England

00:00 – Croatia vs Ghana

02:30 – Colombia vs Portugal

02:30 – DR Congo vs Uzbekistan

05:00 – Algeria vs Austria

05:00 – Jordan vs Argentina

Knockout Stage

Round of 32

June 28, 22:00 – TBD vs TBD

June 29, 20:00 – TBD vs TBD

June 29, 23:30 – TBD vs TBD

June 30, 04:00 – TBD vs TBD

June 30, 20:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 1, 00:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 1, 04:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 1, 19:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 1, 23:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 2, 03:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 2, 22:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 3, 02:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 3, 06:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 3, 21:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 4, 01:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 4, 04:30 – TBD vs TBD

Round of 16

July 4, 20:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 5, 00:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 5, 23:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 6, 03:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 6, 22:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 7, 03:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 7, 19:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 7, 23:00 – TBD vs TBD

Quarter-finals

July 9, 23:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 10, 22:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 12, 00:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 12, 04:00 – TBD vs TBD

Semi-finals

July 14, 22:00 – TBD vs TBD

July 15, 22:00 – TBD vs TBD

Third-Place Play-Off

July 19, 00:00 – TBD vs TBD

Final

July 19, 22:00 – TBD vs TBD