World Cup kickoff times PNG

Back in 1930, when Uruguay staged the World Cup, it was a very minor event with only 13 teams taking part in the tournament. However, today the World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world. Every four years, the World Cup has been the scene for amazing goals, legendary finals, and unexpected upsets.

Only a few countries have been able to raise the trophy. Brazil leads the pack with a record number of five titles. Germany and Italy, with four championships each, are the closest competitors, whilst the reigning champions, Argentina, have won the trophy three times.

The last World Cup in Qatar 2022 saw one of the finest football finals with Argentina being the winners. The bigger 2026 setup will produce even more thrilling and sensational moments. Here are some of the recent winners:

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first time that it will have a tournament of 48 teams. The participating countries were split into twelve groups of four, and each team plays three games in the group phase.

After the group stages’ results, the first two teams will be directly qualified for the knockout stage, where the top eight third-best teams in the tournament will also join them. This new Round of 32 means that the number of knockout games will be more than ever before.

From the Round of 32, the tournament is a knockout competition leading to the final on 19 July 2026. If you have a bad game, you are out of the competition.

Even though Papua New Guinea has not reached the FIFA World Cup yet, the love for football keeps increasing throughout the country. The World Cup is still a huge global event for fans in PNG who follow it with great enthusiasm alongside the strong local sports culture.

The 48-team format that is enlarged gives a slant of optimism to lesser football nations in the long run; therefore, a future World Cup appearance becomes a more feasible goal for the Pacific Islands countries.

With matches hosted across North America, fans following Papua New Guinea Standard Time (PNGST) should expect a mix of early-morning and late-morning kick-offs, depending on the host city.

Fans in PNG can watch the opening match between Mexico and South Africa on 12 June 2026 at 5:00 AM (PNGST), while the final will be played on 20 July 2026 at 5:00 AM PNG Time.

Below is the complete schedule of all 104 matches, with every kick-off time displayed in Papua New Guinea Standard Time (PNGST):

Filter by: Select Category Team Venue Stage Reset

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

The 104 games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are set to be played across 16 different host cities in three countries, thus becoming the most geographically spread World Cup in history.

The US is set to stage the majority of the matches, plus matches in New York / New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Kansas City are on the cards.

Canada plans to hold the games in Toronto and Vancouver, and Mexico is going to invite teams and supporters to Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey.

• TVWAN (Digicel)
• EMTV (free-to-air coverage)
• Digicel Play (pay TV and digital streaming)
• FIFA+ for highlights, replays, and official World Cup content

Broadcast arrangements may be confirmed closer to the tournament, but fans in Papua New Guinea can expect a mix of free-to-air and subscription-based coverage, along with extensive digital highlights.

What is Papua New Guinea Standard Time (PNGST)?
Papua New Guinea Standard Time operates at UTC +10 and does not observe daylight saving time.

Will all match times be shown in PNGST on this page?
Yes. All match kick-off times are converted and displayed in PNGST.

How many matches will be played at the 2026 World Cup?
A total of 104 matches will be played.