Late nights/early mornings if Ireland qualify for 2026 World Cup as schedule confirmed
by AFP · The42THE 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule has been confirmed, following yesterday’s draw in Washington DC.
The Republic of Ireland will face Mexico, Korea Republic and South Africa in Group A if they qualify through March’s playoffs.
It was confirmed yesterday that their first game would be against South Korea in Guadalajara on 11 June, the opening day of the World Cup. They would then face South Africa in Atlanta, Georgia on 18 June and hosts Mexico at the famed Azteca in Mexico City on 24 June.
The kick-off times followed today: 3am Irish time (8pm local) v South Korea, 5pm Irish time (noon local) v South Africa, and 2am Irish time (7pm local) v Mexico.
England will open their 2026 World Cup bid against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June, while the latest meeting of Brazil and Scotland at the tournament will take place in Miami.
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The complex nature of the first-ever 48-team World Cup being played all across North America meant that world football’s governing body needed an extra day to set venues and kick-off times following Friday’s draw.
Thomas Tuchel’s England, who are fourth in the current world ranking, will play Croatia at 3pm local time at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, just outside Dallas.
They will therefore be grateful for the stadium’s retractable roof which should help keep out the baking afternoon temperatures.
England will then go to the northeastern United States for their remaining Group L fixtures, taking on Ghana in Boston on 23 June, and then facing Panama at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City on 27 June.
European champions Spain will play their first two Group H fixtures, against debutants Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, in the covered and air-conditioned Atlanta stadium.
They will then head to Mexico to take on Uruguay in Guadalajara.
Holders Argentina, meanwhile, will meet Algeria in Kansas City in their opening match in Group J on 16 June before facing Austria and Jordan in Dallas.
France, winners in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, will play all three Group I matches in the northeastern US, facing Senegal at the MetLife Stadium and Norway in Boston, either side of a fixture in Philadelphia against an intercontinental play-off winner.
Brazil, who won the last World Cup staged in the United States in 1994, will meet Morocco at the MetLife Stadium in their first Group C encounter on 13 June.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team then meet Haiti in Philadelphia on 19 June before a clash with Scotland in Miami on 24 June — it will be the fifth time the countries have faced off at a World Cup.
Other games to look out for include the meeting of Germany and Caribbean minnows Curacao in Houston in Group E on 14 June.
Co-hosts Mexico will play South Africa in the opening match — a repeat of the opening game at the 2010 World Cup — at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on 11 June.
The final at the MetLife Stadium on 19 July will kick off at 3pm (7pm Irish time).