FIFA World Cup 2026: Full England fixtures, schedule, next match including kick off times

The FIFA World Cup 2026 schedule for England

FIFA World Cup 2026: Full England fixtures, schedule, next match including kick off times

England will play eight matches in under a month if they reach the semi-finals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Almost all of England’s games are set to be in the US, although they could face a last-16 match in Mexico City if they win their group or a last-32 contest in Toronto if they finish second.

They will also be in Vancouver for the last 16 if they finish as one of eight best-placed runners-up from the 12 groups.

Here’s the full confirmed and potential schedule for England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. You can also find out the UK TV schedule for the games here.

England World Cup fixtures: Confirmed schedule, kick off times

England face Croatia, Ghana and Panama during the group stage. Here’s when those games take place and their subsequent fixtures.

DateOpponentsStageTime (BST)Channel
June 17CroatiaGroup21:00ITV
June 23GhanaGroup21:00BBC
June 27PanamaGroup22:00ITV
July 1/2TBCRound of 32TBCBBC
July 5/6/7TBCRound of 16TBCBBC
July 10/11TBCQuarter-finalsTBCITV
July 14/15TBCSemi-finalsTBCBBC
July 18TBCThird-placed match22:00TBC
July 19TBCFinal20:00BBC, ITV

England fixtures: Knockout stage, full bracket

Should England justify their status as favourites to win their group, they will face a best-placed runner-up from Group E, H, I, J or K in the last 32.

That could still produce a tricky-looking tie, with the likes of Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Norway among the teams potentially finishing third, based on FIFA rankings and potential surprises.

Second spot in their group would send England to a meeting with the runners-up from Group K. Portugal and Colombia are the two highest ranked teams in that section.

England will face the winners of Group K if they are one of the best third-placed teams. You can see the full bracket on FIFA’s site.

England next match at FIFA World Cup 2026

England’s next match at the World Cup will be their opener against Croatia at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on June 17 at 21:00 BST.

Harry Kane and Morgan Rogers celebrate an England goal

Will England win the 2026 World Cup?

England are among the favourites to win the World Cup and have a gifted squad featuring many of the best players from the Premier League and Europe, led by a prolific captain and focal point in Bayern Munich talisman Harry Kane.

The Three Lions won all eight of their qualifying matches under Thomas Tuchel, who established himself as one of the best club managers in football – including winning the Champions League in 2021/22 with Chelsea – before taking his first international role with the Three Lions.

None of the teams England faced in qualifying were ranked above 32nd at the time and they remain unproven against elite opponents under Tuchel, who oversaw a 3-1 home defeat to Senegal – 19th in the world – in a friendly a year before the World Cup.

They last beat a top-10 side with a win over Argentina during the 2002 World Cup group stage, going out to France in the quarter-finals at the last edition and Croatia in the 2018 semi-finals.

There are also questions around how well England’s players will fare with the intense heat and amount of travel potentially involved following long club seasons, but they have certainly shown signs that they could be contenders with a 4-2-3-1 formation and a settled team.

Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and Germany are among the likeliest candidates England will have to see off if they are to take the title for the first time since 1966.