England's 2026 World Cup Fixtures: Dates, Venues, Kick-Off Times and TV Schedule

by Joseph King | by Joseph King

image England's 2026 World Cup Fixtures: Dates, Venues, Kick-Off Times and TV Schedule
England’s three Group L matches against Croatia, Ghana and Panama will take place in the United States, spread across three different cities. Keep in mind that all 104 World Cup matches are free to air in the UK on BBC and ITV, with streaming on iPlayer and ITVX also available!

England vs Croatia

  • When: 17 June, 21:00 BST
  • Where: Dallas Stadium, TX
  • How to watch: ITV1 / ITVX

Thomas Tuchel’s side kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign against Croatia, in what will likely be their toughest test in the group stage. The match will take place in AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL franchise the Dallas Cowboys. However, due to the tournament’s anti-sponsor rules, the stadium will officially be known as “Dallas Stadium”.

A key factor about this stadium is that it has a retractable roof and climate control system, which will help to shield the players from temperatures that can get as high as 38°C in June. Of the 16 venues in the 2026 World Cup, Dallas Stadium is the largest with its 94,000 person capacity.

England are no strangers to Croatia in major tournaments. The Three Lions beat Vatreni 1-0 in the 2020 Euros group stage, although their 2-1 loss in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup surely still lingers in the minds of England fans.

England vs Ghana

'England

  • When: 23 June, 21:00 BST
  • Where: Boston Stadium, MA
  • How to watch: BBC One / BBC iPlayer

Next up, England will travel from Arlington to Boston, Massachusetts for their second Group L match against Ghana. This is roughly 2,840 kilometres of travel, which is around a 3.5 hour flight. The match will take place in Foxborough at the New England Patriots’ Boston Stadium, which holds 65,000 spectators.

2,840 kilometres is a lot of ground to cover between fixtures, as it’s the equivalent of flying from London to Athens, Greece.

They’ll benefit from the six-day recovery gap, but Tuchel will still have to manage the squad carefully. As for weather conditions, the late-afternoon kickoff will see England playing in temperatures of around 24-27°C, with the potential for high humidity as well.

This will be only the second time that Ghana and England face off, with their only previous meeting coming in a 2011 friendly at Wembley, which finished in a 1-1 draw. The Three Lions will be significant favourites over a struggling Ghana side that has lost to Japan, South Korea, South Africa, Austria, Germany and Mexico, and most recently drew 1-1 with non-qualifiers Wales in their last seven games.

Panama vs England

Harry Kane of England

  • When: 27 June, 22:00 BST
  • Where: New York New Jersey Stadium, NJ
  • How to watch: ITV1 / ITVX

For their final group stage fixture, England won’t have to travel very far at all. It’s only around 200 miles to get from Foxborough to the MetLife Stadium (renamed to New York New Jersey Stadium) in East Rutherford. The stadium, which was opened in 2010, is home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets and holds 82,500 people. It will also host the World Cup Final on 19 July.

Conditions for this final group stage game could be a bit tougher than the match in Foxborough. Temperatures in late June begin to push into the 30°C territory and there is often more humidity in NJ than in Boston.

It’s important to note that this could be a potential rotation spot for Tuchel, should England take care of business in the first two games.

England dealt Panama a crushing 6-1 defeat during the group stage of the 2018 edition, with Harry Kane scoring the country’s first hat trick since Lineker in 1986. They once again come in as significant favourites at many of the best online betting sites, although it should be noted that this Panama team is a much more well-organized side than the one that finished with a -9 goal differential eight years ago.

Potential knockout schedule (as group winners)

If England win the group, the knockout fixtures and UK times look like this (the broadcast for the final has yet to be confirmed):

  • Round of 32: Wednesday 1 July, 17:00 BST (BBC / iPlayer)
  • Round of 16: Monday 6 July, 01:00 BST (BBC / iPlayer)
  • Quarter-final: Saturday 11 July, 22:00 BST (ITV1 / ITVX)
  • Semi-final: Wednesday 15 July, 20:00 BST (BBC / iPlayer)
  • Final: Sunday 19 July, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford

If England finish second in Group L

Should they finish as runners-up, this is what the schedule will look like:

  • Round of 32: Thursday 2 July, 0:00 BST (BBC / iPlayer)
  • Round of 16: Monday 6 July, 20:00 BST (ITV1 / ITVX)
  • Quarter-final: Friday 10 July, 20:00 BST (BBC / iPlayer)
  • Semi-final: Tuesday 14 July, 20:00 BST (ITV1 / ITVX)
  • Final: Sunday 19 July, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford