England‘s 2026 World Cup journey will kick off against Croatia at 9pm UK time, following confirmation that the match will be held in Dallas, Texas. The full list of kick-off times and locations for all 104 games at next summer’s tournament across the United States, Canada, and Mexico was unveiled by FIFA on Saturday night, after the group stage draw 24 hours earlier.
The Three Lions’ first match against Croatia is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17. England’s second game against Ghana will take place on Tuesday, June 23, in Boston, with a 9pm UK start time. Thomas Tuchel’s team will conclude their group stage matches by taking on Ghana on Saturday, June 27 in New York, kicking off at 10pm UK time. If they top Group L, England could potentially face co-hosts Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina all on their way to a final against either France or Spain, who defeated them in the Euro 2024 final.
As for Scotland, their campaign begins against Haiti in Boston in the early hours of Sunday, June 14. Steve Clarke’s squad will then face Morocco in Boston on Thursday, June 18 at 11pm, followed by an exciting clash with Brazil in Miami on Wednesday, June 24 at 11pm.
Unlike England, who were top seeds, Scotland were drawn from pot 3 and face a challenging task to finish in the top two. However, the best eight of the 12 third-placed teams will also progress to the knockout stages.
England’s group stage in the World Cup is far from straightforward, as manager Tuchel acknowledged after Friday’s draw. “We have Croatia and Ghana, two regulars in World Cups, and we have Panama,” he outlined.
Tuchel admitted his limited knowledge of Panama but assured: “I don’t know much about Panama, but we will know everything about them when the tournament starts. For me personally, even in the Champions League, you have to focus on the group – the group is always the most difficult, and we want to escape, and we want to win the group. It’s a tough one.
“No one should be underestimated. Of course, Croatia is the standout name [and] the highest-ranked team from Pot 2 that we got into our group. It’s a difficult opener against Croatia. We take it from here.”
Scotland’s manager Clarke had a positive outlook on their draw, saying: “There’s lots of positives from the draw. I’m happy not to draw any of the European teams because we play them a lot obviously.
“It feels like a World Cup because we play three teams from three different continents and that’s what the World Cup is all about. It’s a strange quirk of fate to draw two teams that we faced at the last World Cup we were at in 1998. Sometimes that happens in the draw.”
England’s group stage dates, kick-off times and venues
Wednesday, June 17 – England vs Croatia, Dallas, 9pm
Tuesday, June 23 – England vs Ghana, Boston, 9pm
Saturday, June 27 – England vs Panama, New York, 10pm
Scotland’s group stage dates, kick-off times and venues
Sunday, June 14 – Scotland vs Haiti, Boston, 2am
Thursday, June 18 – Scotland vs Morocco, Boston, 11pm
Wednesday, June 24 – Scotland vs Brazil, Miami, 11pm