Australian Central Time football

The FIFA World Cup began back in 1930 with just 13 teams. Nearly a century later, it’s become the biggest sporting event on the planet. Every four years, it delivers moments that live forever — iconic goals, legendary teams, and nights that fans never forget.

From Pelé’s brilliance to Maradona’s magic, Germany’s efficiency to Argentina’s triumph in Qatar, the World Cup has always been football at its absolute peak.

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

Brazil may still hold the crown historically, but with an expanded format in 2026, this World Cup feels more open than ever. More teams mean more upsets — and more drama.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first tournament to feature a 48-team lineup. These teams will be split into 12 groups of four, and each nation will play three matches in the group stage.

The first and second-placed teams in each group will qualify directly for the knockouts, and they will be joined by the eight best third-placed teams. This results in a new Round of 32, which means more knockout football than ever before.

From there, its sudden death all the way to the final on 19 July 2026. More knockouts, more tension, and zero room for error.

Australia have been a regular feature at the FIFA World Cup in the contemporary period. After migrating to the AFC, the Socceroos have always devised means to qualify and challenge the top players in the world.

Australia’s prime World Cup highlight was in 2006 and 2022 when they reached the Round of 16, while their latest appearances have revealed an increasing level of firmness and faith, mainly the brave efforts in 2022 when they ended up at 11th Position.

The opening up of the 2026 format to a larger number of teams means that the knock of opportunity comes once more. The least target is to get out of the group stage, and after that, anything is doable.

Australia will be seen for the first time in the tournament on 14 June, 2026 at 1:30 PM (ACST), the Socceroos will then face the hosts USA on 20 June, 2026 at 4:30 AM (ACST), and San Francisco Bay Area will host Paraguay and Australia on 26 June, 2026 at 11:30 AM (ACST) to wrap the group Proceedings. The table below shows all matches involving Australia, with kick-off times converted to Australian Central Standard Time (ACST). The full tournament schedule is also available further down the page.

Date	Time	Team 1 Score Team 2
14 June, 2026 (Sunday)	1:30 PM (ACST)	Australia vs Turkey Vancouver Match No. 6 Group D
20 June, 2026 (Saturday)	4:30 AM (ACST)	USA vs Australia Seattle Match No. 32 Group D
26 June, 2026 (Friday)	11:30 AM (ACST)	Paraguay vs Australia SF Bay Area Match No. 60 Group D

With the tournament hosted in North America, Australian fans should expect a heavy dose of early-morning kick-offs, along with a few late-night games depending on the venue.

The first match will take place on 12 June 2026 at 4:30 AM (ACST) when the host Mexico takes on South Africa and the all-important final takes place on 20 July 2026 at 4:30 AM (ACST), wrapping up a month of football that will test dedication levels across the country.

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

• SBS (free-to-air coverage)
• Optus Sport (streaming)
• FIFA+ for highlights and official content

Q1. What time will most matches kick off in ACST?
Most matches will start in the early morning hours, with some late-night kick-offs depending on the host city. The exact kick-off all matches is already available on this page.

Q2. How many teams are playing in 2026?
A total of 48 teams.

Q3. How many matches are played?
104 matches across the tournament.

Q4. When is the final in ACST?
The final takes place on 20 July 2026 at 4:30 AM (ACST).

Q5. Where can Australians watch the World Cup?
On SBS, Optus Sport, and FIFA+.