2026 FIFA World Cup NZST

The very first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay with only 13 teams. From that humble beginning, it has blossomed into the event with the highest audience in the world. The four-yearly competition never fails to thrill the fans with its exciting world, class football amazing goals, shocking results, and unifying moments for the fans from all over the globe.

The World Cup has always been the stage for football legends to shine, from the likes of Pelé and Maradona to Zidane, Messi, and Mbappé. The unforgettable victory of Argentina at the Qatar 2022 still lingers in our minds, showcasing the true extent of the power of the World Cup.

Here’s a look at the most recent FIFA World Cup winners:

Despite last winning the trophy about 24 years ago, Brazil remain the most successful nation with five titles, but the expanded 48-team format makes the 2026 World Cup more unpredictable than ever. Expect surprises, underdog stories, and plenty of chaos.

The 2026 edition also brings a completely new 48-team format. Teams are divided into 12 groups, from Group A to Group L, and 4 teams are placed in each group. All teams play in three group-stage matches.

The two best teams from each group qualify for the Round of 32, with the eight best third-placed teams added to them.

After the Round of 32, it’s a knockout match each time until the final on 19 July 2026. To earn the trophy, a team will have to win five straight knockout rounds.

The All Whites have had a short and rather unforgettable FIFA World Cup itinerary.

Since making their debut in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, New Zealand have played in only two World Cup finals, the other being in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Their 1982 World Cup campaign was cut short at the group stage but the 2010 World Cup saw an achievement of football reaching its zenith level for the nation.

New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup remained unbeaten across all three group-stage matches, drawing against Slovakia, Italy, and Paraguay. The All Whites, finishing third in their group at the tournament, went home without fearing anything but embracing global respect for their organisation, discipline, and high spirits against football giants.

New Zealand’s biggest challenge in the past has been qualification. Oceania qualifying rounds have been so competitive that the All Whites have found themselves having to secure their places through intercontinental play-offs, which they have narrowly missed out on a few times despite their strong qualifying campaigns.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, with its increased number of 48 teams, will significantly change the appearance of the landscape. With more slots and a more straightforward route to the finals, the New Zealand fans are the ones who will be dreaming of a long-awaited reunion with the greatest stage of football. The first-ever knockout stage appearance could be made by the All Whites as well.

Below is a dedicated table featuring matches involving New Zealand, with kick-off times displayed in New Zealand Standard Time (NZST). The full tournament schedule follows in the next section.

Date	Time	Team 1 Score Team 2
16 June, 2026 (Tuesday)	1:00 PM (NZST)	Iran vs New Zealand Los Angeles Match No. 15 Group G
22 June, 2026 (Monday)	1:00 PM (NZST)	New Zealand vs Egypt Vancouver Match No. 40 Group G
27 June, 2026 (Saturday)	3:00 PM (NZST)	New Zealand vs Belgium Vancouver Match No. 64 Group G

The All Whites will face Iran in their opening encounter on 16 June 2026 at 1:00 PM (NZST). Thereafter, they will face Egypt in Vancouver on 22 June 2026 at 1:00 PM (NZST), and then they will finally wrap the group stage against the European powerhouse Belgium on 27 June 2026 at 3:00 PM (NZST).

Due to the tournament being hosted in North America, fans in New Zealand should prepare for early-morning kick-offs, especially during the group stage.

The opening match kicks off on 12 June 2026 at 7:00 AM (NZST), while the final will be played on 20 July 2026 at 7:00 AM (NZST).

Below is the complete list of all 104 matches, with kick-off times converted to New Zealand Standard Time (NZST). Use the filters to sort by team, venue, or stage:

Filter by: Select Category Team Venue Stage Reset

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

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted at 16 different venues in three North American countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It’s the first time that an edition of the tournament will be held in three countries simultaneously.

The United States will be the main host of the tournament, with the matches played 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 the World Cup in Toronto and Vancouver only, whereas Mexico will be the biggest staging ground outside of the USA, as it will have three cities for the World Cup games, namely Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, plus the very famous Estadio Azteca will also be included.

Since all venues are in different time zones in North America, it is quite understandable that fans from different countries around the world will get very different kick-off times, so having localized schedules will be a must for those who want to follow the game live.

• TVNZ
• FIFA+ for highlights and official content

Q1. What time will most matches kick off in NZST?
Most matches will start in the early morning hours, depending on the host city.

Q2. How many teams are playing in 2026?
48 teams.

Q3. How many matches are played?
104 matches.

Q4. When is the final in NZST?
The final will be played on 20 July 2026 at 7:00 AM (NZST).

Q5. Where can New Zealand fans watch the World Cup?
On TVNZ and FIFA+.