2026 FIFA World Cup Schedule in Japan Standard Time (JST)

Since that first whistle back in 1930, the FIFA World Cup has grown into the most-watched sporting event on the planet. Played every four years, it’s delivered moments that stick with you — individual brilliance, collective triumphs, heartbreak, joy. Generations shaped by what happens on this stage.

The 2026 edition opens a fresh chapter. Not just because it’s bigger, but because its expanded format brings more nations into the spotlight, giving more teams a real shot at football’s ultimate prize.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup brings in a new competition format, expanding the field to 48 participating teams for the very first time. More nations involved, more stories unfolding — and yes, that includes Japan.

• The 48 teams will be split into 12 groups of 4 teams each.
• Every side plays three group-stage matches. No shortcuts.
• The top two teams from every group, plus the eight best third-placed teams, move on to the Round of 32.
• From there, it’s all or nothing, following a single-elimination knockout format.

With the Round of 32 now in play, teams must survive five knockout matches to lift the trophy. For Japan, that opens the door to a deeper run — a chance to finally push past old barriers and write a new chapter.

Japan made their FIFA World Cup debut in 1998 and haven’t missed a tournament since. Organized. Technical. Relentless. Over the years, Japan have earned their place as one of Asia’s most consistent and competitive football nations.

Their strongest World Cup runs came in 2002, 2010, 2018, and 2022, each ending in the Round of 16. And who could forget 2022? Taking down both Germany and Spain in the group stage — proper statement wins.

Looking ahead to 2026, the target is clear. Go beyond the Round of 16. Break new ground. History’s there to be made.

For Japanese fans, the table below lists all matches featuring Japan, with kick-off times shown in JST. The complete match schedule is also available on this page in the section below:

Date	Time	Team 1 Score Team 2
15 June, 2026 (Monday)	5:00 AM (JST)	Netherlands vs Japan Dallas Match No. 11 Group F
21 June, 2026 (Sunday)	1:00 PM (JST)	Tunisia vs Japan Monterrey Match No. 36 Group F
26 June, 2026 (Friday)	8:00 AM (JST)	Japan vs UKR/SWE/POL/ALB Dallas Match No. 57 Group F

Japan open their campaign against the Netherlands on June 15, 2026, at 5:00 AM JST in Dallas. Next up is Tunisia on June 21, 2026, at 1:00 PM JST in Monterrey, before wrapping up the group stage on June 26, 2026, at 8:00 AM JST back in Dallas.

For fans watching from Japan, most matches will land in those late-night or early morning hours. The tournament gets underway with Mexico taking on South Africa on June 12, 2026, kicking off at 4:00 AM JST inside the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The grand finale arrives on July 20, 2026, with kick-off at 4:00 AM JST at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA. Set the alarm. Worth it.

Below is the complete schedule of all 104 matches, with kick-off times shown in Japan Standard Time (JST):

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Date	Time	Team 1 Score Team 2
12 June, 2026 (Friday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Mexico vs South Africa Mexico City Match No. 1 Group A
	11:00 AM (JST)	South Korea vs DEN/MKD/CZE/IRL Guadalajara Match No. 2 Group A
13 June, 2026 (Saturday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Canada vs ITA/NIR/WAL/BIH Toronto Match No. 3 Group B
	10:00 AM (JST)	USA vs Paraguay Los Angeles Match No. 4 Group D
14 June, 2026 (Sunday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Qatar vs Switzerland SF Bay Area Match No. 8 Group B
	7:00 AM (JST)	Brazil vs Morocco New York Match No. 7 Group C
	10:00 AM (JST)	Haiti vs Scotland Boston Match No. 5 Group C
	1:00 PM (JST)	Australia vs TUR/ROU/SVK/KOS Vancouver Match No. 6 Group D
15 June, 2026 (Monday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Germany vs Curaçao Houston Match No. 10 Group E
	5:00 AM (JST)	Netherlands vs Japan Dallas Match No. 11 Group F
	8:00 AM (JST)	Ivory Coast vs Ecuador Philadelphia Match No. 9 Group E
	11:00 AM (JST)	UKR/SWE/POL/ALB vs Tunisia Monterrey Match No. 12 Group F
16 June, 2026 (Tuesday)	1:00 AM (JST)	Spain vs Cape Verde Atlanta Match No. 14 Group H
	4:00 AM (JST)	Belgium vs Egypt Seattle Match No. 16 Group G
	7:00 AM (JST)	Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay Miami Match No. 13 Group H
	10:00 AM (JST)	Iran vs New Zealand Los Angeles Match No. 15 Group G
17 June, 2026 (Wednesday)	4:00 AM (JST)	France vs Senegal New York Match No. 17 Group I
	7:00 AM (JST)	BOL/SUR/IRQ vs Norway Boston Match No. 18 Group I
	10:00 AM (JST)	Argentina vs Algeria Kansas City Match No. 19 Group J
	1:00 PM (JST)	Austria vs Jordan SF Bay Area Match No. 20 Group J
18 June, 2026 (Thursday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Portugal vs NCL/JAM/COD Houston Match No. 23 Group K
	5:00 AM (JST)	England vs Croatia Dallas Match No. 22 Group L
	8:00 AM (JST)	Ghana vs Panama Toronto Match No. 21 Group L
	11:00 AM (JST)	Uzbekistan vs Colombia Mexico City Match No. 24 Group K
19 June, 2026 (Friday)	1:00 AM (JST)	DEN/MKD/CZE/IRL vs South Africa Atlanta Match No. 25 Group A
	4:00 AM (JST)	Switzerland vs ITA/NIR/WAL/BIH Los Angeles Match No. 26 Group B
	7:00 AM (JST)	Canada vs Qatar Vancouver Match No. 27 Group B
	10:00 AM (JST)	Mexico vs South Korea Guadalajara Match No. 28 Group A
20 June, 2026 (Saturday)	4:00 AM (JST)	USA vs Australia Seattle Match No. 32 Group D
	7:00 AM (JST)	Scotland vs Morocco Boston Match No. 30 Group C
	10:00 AM (JST)	Brazil vs Haiti Philadelphia Match No. 29 Group C
	1:00 PM (JST)	TUR/ROU/SVK/KOS vs Paraguay SF Bay Area Match No. 31 Group D
21 June, 2026 (Sunday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Netherlands vs UKR/SWE/POL/ALB Houston Match No. 35 Group F
	5:00 AM (JST)	Germany vs Ivory Coast Toronto Match No. 33 Group E
	9:00 AM (JST)	Ecuador vs Curaçao Kansas City Match No. 34 Group E
	1:00 PM (JST)	Tunisia vs Japan Monterrey Match No. 36 Group F
22 June, 2026 (Monday)	1:00 AM (JST)	Spain vs Saudi Arabia Atlanta Match No. 38 Group H
	4:00 AM (JST)	Belgium vs Iran Los Angeles Match No. 39 Group G
	7:00 AM (JST)	Uruguay vs Cape Verde Miami Match No. 37 Group H
	10:00 AM (JST)	New Zealand vs Egypt Vancouver Match No. 40 Group G
23 June, 2026 (Tuesday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Argentina vs Austria Dallas Match No. 43 Group J
	6:00 AM (JST)	France vs BOL/SUR/IRQ Philadelphia Match No. 42 Group I
	9:00 AM (JST)	Norway vs Senegal New York Match No. 41 Group I
	12:00 PM (JST)	Jordan vs Algeria SF Bay Area Match No. 44 Group J
24 June, 2026 (Wednesday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Portugal vs Uzbekistan Houston Match No. 47 Group K
	5:00 AM (JST)	England vs Ghana Boston Match No. 45 Group L
	8:00 AM (JST)	Panama vs Croatia Toronto Match No. 46 Group L
	11:00 AM (JST)	Colombia vs NCL/JAM/COD Guadalajara Match No. 48 Group K
25 June, 2026 (Thursday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Switzerland vs Canada Vancouver Match No. 51 Group B
	4:00 AM (JST)	ITA/NIR/WAL/BIH vs Qatar Seattle Match No. 52 Group B
	7:00 AM (JST)	Scotland vs Brazil Miami Match No. 49 Group C
	7:00 AM (JST)	Morocco vs Haiti Atlanta Match No. 50 Group C
	10:00 AM (JST)	DEN/MKD/CZE/IRL vs Mexico Mexico City Match No. 53 Group A
	10:00 AM (JST)	South Africa vs South Korea Monterrey Match No. 54 Group A
26 June, 2026 (Friday)	5:00 AM (JST)	Curaçao vs Ivory Coast Philadelphia Match No. 55 Group E
	5:00 AM (JST)	Ecuador vs Germany New York Match No. 56 Group E
	8:00 AM (JST)	Japan vs UKR/SWE/POL/ALB Dallas Match No. 57 Group F
	8:00 AM (JST)	Tunisia vs Netherlands Kansas City Match No. 58 Group F
	11:00 AM (JST)	TUR/ROU/SVK/KOS vs USA Los Angeles Match No. 59 Group D
	11:00 AM (JST)	Paraguay vs Australia SF Bay Area Match No. 60 Group D
27 June, 2026 (Saturday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Norway vs France Boston Match No. 61 Group I
	4:00 AM (JST)	Senegal vs BOL/SUR/IRQ Toronto Match No. 62 Group I
	9:00 AM (JST)	Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia Houston Match No. 65 Group H
	9:00 AM (JST)	Uruguay vs Spain Guadalajara Match No. 66 Group H
	12:00 PM (JST)	Egypt vs Iran Seattle Match No. 63 Group G
	12:00 PM (JST)	New Zealand vs Belgium Vancouver Match No. 64 Group G
28 June, 2026 (Sunday)	6:00 AM (JST)	Panama vs England New York Match No. 67 Group L
	6:00 AM (JST)	Croatia vs Ghana Philadelphia Match No. 68 Group L
	8:30 AM (JST)	Colombia vs Portugal Miami Match No. 71 Group K
	8:30 AM (JST)	NCL/JAM/COD vs Uzbekistan Atlanta Match No. 72 Group K
	11:00 AM (JST)	Algeria vs Austria Kansas City Match No. 69 Group J
	11:00 AM (JST)	Jordan vs Argentina Dallas Match No. 70 Group J
29 June, 2026 (Monday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group B Los Angeles Match No. 73 Round of 32
30 June, 2026 (Tuesday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group C vs Runner-up Group F Houston Match No. 76 Round of 32
	5:30 AM (JST)	Winner Group E vs 3rd Group A/B/C/D/F Boston Match No. 74 Round of 32
	10:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group F vs Runner-up Group C Monterrey Match No. 75 Round of 32
1 July, 2026 (Wednesday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Runner-up Group E vs Runner-up Group I Dallas Match No. 78 Round of 32
	6:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group I vs 3rd Group C/D/F/G/H New York Match No. 77 Round of 32
	10:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group A vs 3rd Group C/E/F/H/I Mexico City Match No. 79 Round of 32
2 July, 2026 (Thursday)	1:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group L vs 3rd Group E/H/I/J/K Atlanta Match No. 80 Round of 32
	5:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group G vs 3rd Group A/E/H/I/J Seattle Match No. 82 Round of 32
	9:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group D vs 3rd Group B/E/F/I/J SF Bay Area Match No. 81 Round of 32
3 July, 2026 (Friday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group H vs Runner-up Group J Los Angeles Match No. 84 Round of 32
	8:00 AM (JST)	Runner-up Group K vs Runner-up Group L Toronto Match No. 83 Round of 32
	12:00 PM (JST)	Winner Group B vs 3rd Group E/F/G/I/J Vancouver Match No. 85 Round of 32
4 July, 2026 (Saturday)	3:00 AM (JST)	Runner-up Group D vs Runner-up Group G Dallas Match No. 88 Round of 32
	7:00 AM (JST)	Winner Group J vs Runner-up Group H Miami Match No. 86 Round of 32
	10:30 AM (JST)	Winner Group K vs 3rd Group D/E/I/J/L Kansas City Match No. 87 Round of 32
5 July, 2026 (Sunday)	2:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 73 vs Winner Match 75 Houston Match No. 90 Round of 16
	6:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 74 vs Winner Match 77 Philadelphia Match No. 89 Round of 16
6 July, 2026 (Monday)	5:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 76 vs Winner Match 78 New York Match No. 91 Round of 16
	9:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 79 vs Winner Match 80 Mexico City Match No. 92 Round of 16
7 July, 2026 (Tuesday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 83 vs Winner Match 84 Dallas Match No. 93 Round of 16
	9:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 81 vs Winner Match 82 Seattle Match No. 94 Round of 16
8 July, 2026 (Wednesday)	1:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 86 vs Winner Match 88 Atlanta Match No. 95 Round of 16
	5:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 85 vs Winner Match 87 Vancouver Match No. 96 Round of 16
10 July, 2026 (Friday)	5:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 89 vs Winner Match 90 Boston Match No. 97 Quarterfinals
11 July, 2026 (Saturday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 93 vs Winner Match 94 Los Angeles Match No. 98 Quarterfinals
12 July, 2026 (Sunday)	6:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 91 vs Winner Match 92 Miami Match No. 99 Quarterfinals
	10:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 95 vs Winner Match 96 Kansas City Match No. 100 Quarterfinals
15 July, 2026 (Wednesday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 97 vs Winner Match 98 Dallas Match No. 101 Semifinals
16 July, 2026 (Thursday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 99 vs Winner Match 100 Atlanta Match No. 102 Semifinals
19 July, 2026 (Sunday)	6:00 AM (JST)	Loser Match 101 vs Loser Match 102 Miami Match No. 103 Third place
20 July, 2026 (Monday)	4:00 AM (JST)	Winner Match 101 vs Winner Match 102 New York Match No. 104 Final

• FIFA+ (official streaming platform)
• DAZN, NHK, Nippon TV, Fuji TV

Q1. What time will Japan’s matches be played in Japan Standard Time (JST)?
With the tournament hosted in North America, most matches are expected to kick off during late-night or early-morning hours in Japan. The schedule above lists the exact kick-off time for every match.

Q2. How many times has Japan qualified for the FIFA World Cup?
Japan has qualified for every FIFA World Cup since 1998. The 2026 tournament will be their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance, underlining just how consistent they’ve been.

Q3. What is Japan’s best performance at the FIFA World Cup?
Japan’s best runs have ended in the Round of 16, achieved four times — in 2002, 2010, 2018, and 2022. The aim in 2026 is to finally push past that mark.

Q4. Has Japan ever reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup?
As of now, Japan have not reached the quarter-finals. The closest calls came in 2002, 2010, and 2018, when progress slipped away by the narrowest of margins.

Q5. Where can fans in Japan watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup live?
Matches will be available via DAZN, NHK, Nippon TV, Fuji TV, OTT streaming platforms, and FIFA+, FIFA’s official streaming service.

Q6. How many matches will Japan play in the group stage?
Japan will play three matches in the group stage, facing three different opponents. The top two teams, along with selected third-placed sides, advance to the knockouts.

Q7. Will Japan’s group-stage match timings change?
Match dates and kick-off times are confirmed by FIFA after the official draw. While major changes are unlikely, minor adjustments can happen for broadcast or logistical reasons. Any updates will be reflected here as soon as they’re announced.