2026 FIFA World Cup Schedule in Iran Standard Time (IRST)

The FIFA World Cup, originally a small international tournament held in Uruguay in 1930, has since evolved into the most watched sporting event in the world. What began with just 13 participating nations has grown steadily, and the 2026 tournament will mark a major milestone with its expansion to 48 teams.

Over nearly a century, the World Cup has delivered unforgettable moments, legendary matches, and players whose legacies have stood the test of time. While the list of champions was long dominated by South American and European nations, the modern era tells a broader story of football’s global expansion, with rising competitiveness from teams across Asia, Africa, and other regions.

The 48-team format, introduced in 2026, represents a major turning point in the tournament’s evolution. It offers more nations the opportunity to take part and allows teams, particularly from Asia, to compete more seriously, advance deeper into the competition, and challenge traditional football powers on the sport’s biggest stage.

Below is a look at the most recent FIFA World Cup winners:

Iran, better known as Team Melli, have consistently ranked among the toughest and most competitive teams in Asia on football’s world stage. Since their debut at the FIFA World Cup in 1978, Iran have transformed into a regular participant at the sport’s most prestigious tournament.

After missing the early World Cup editions due to factors such as not being a FIFA member and later periods of political turmoil, Iran finally made their long-awaited finals debut at Argentina 1978. This appearance was followed by a lengthy absence before Team Melli returned to the global spotlight at France 1998.

The 1998 tournament remains a defining chapter in Iranian football history. In a group-stage match that carried major political significance as well as sporting importance, Iran defeated the United States 2–1 in Lyon. Goals from Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia delivered Iran’s first-ever World Cup finals victory, sparking nationwide celebrations that went far beyond the pitch.

Since then, Iran have established a pattern of regular qualification, returning to the World Cup in 2006, 2014, 2018, and 2022. During this period, they produced further memorable moments, including a dramatic win over Morocco in 2018 and a last-minute victory against Wales in 2022.

Although progressing beyond the group stage has so far remained elusive, Iran’s World Cup identity is firmly defined. Tactical discipline, defensive resilience, and an ability to unsettle higher-ranked opponents have earned Team Melli widespread respect across the global game.

With qualification already secured for the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup in 2026, expectations are rising. The new format offers a more accessible route to the knockout stages, and with strong backing from a passionate global fan base and players gaining experience in top leagues, Iran enter the next chapter of their World Cup journey with genuine belief that a breakthrough could finally be within reach.

For fans following the tournament in Iran Standard Time (IRST), most matches will take place during the evening and late-night hours, with some fixtures extending into the early morning.

The opening match will kick off on 11 June 2026 at 10:30 PM (IRST), while the final will be played on 19 July 2026 at 10:30 PM (IRST).

Below is the complete list of all 104 matches, with kick-off times shown in Iran Standard Time. Use the filters to sort by team, venue, or stage.

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

The next FIFA World Cup in 2026 will be spread across three North American countries and 16 host cities, making it the most geographically wide-ranging tournament in the competition’s history. It will be the first time that the United States, Canada, and Mexico jointly host the World Cup, taking the event across an entire continent.

Matches in the United States will be staged in New York–New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, Philadelphia, and Kansas City. Canada will host matches in Toronto and Vancouver, while the Mexican cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, all renowned for their strong football culture, complete the host lineup.

The time differences between venues from one coast to the other will make it challenging for international viewers to follow local kick-off times. By converting all match timings to Iran Standard Time (IRST), fans in Iran can gain a clear and consistent view of the schedule, allowing them to plan their viewing and follow the tournament smoothly from the opening match to the final.

• IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting)
• IRIB Varzesh
• FIFA+ – Highlights, replays, and official coverage

Are all kick-off times shown in IRST?
Yes, all matches are displayed in Iran Standard Time.

Does Iran observe daylight saving time?
No. Iran uses IRST year-round.

What time will most matches kick off in Iran?
Most matches will be played in the evening or late at night.

When is the final in IRST?
The final kicks off on 19 July 2026 at 10:30 PM (IRST).