There is very little time left until the opening of the final stage of the World Football Championship. According to Modern.az, in accordance with FIFA's decision, 48 national teams will participate in this final stage. However, between 1998 and 2022, 32 teams qualified for the final stage of the World Championships.
The World Championship, which will be held in Canada, USA and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026, will take place in a new format.
Why FIFA Staggers Kick-Off Times Across Three Time Zones
Mexico is represented in the World Cup by the cities of Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Canada will host the games with the cities of Toronto and Vancouver. Groups of the 2026 FIFA World Cup: The 2026 World Cup matches will be held in 16 cities in Canada, USA and Mexico.
In the USA, matches will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, Democratic Republic of Congo
Related Coverage
Full Kick-Off Time Grid: ET, CT, MT, and PT for Every Match
The main issue concerning football fans regarding the World Cup to be held on the North American continent is the start time of the games. For this reason, according to FIFA's schedule, the games will coincide with evening, night and morning hours in Azerbaijan time. As a result, not everyone will be able to watch the games comfortably.
The point is that the USA, Mexico and Canada are located in different time zones from Azerbaijan. The opening match of the World Cup between Mexico and the Republic of South Africa (Group A) will start on June 11 at 23:00 Baku time. That time will coincide with noon in Mexico time.
Some games will coincide with night hours. For example, in Group C, the Brazil-Morocco match will start at 02:00 Baku time. In Group A, the South Korea - Czech Republic match will start on June 12 at 06:00 Baku time.
Late-Night and Early-Morning Matches for International Fans
Turkey's national team's second-round match against Paraguay will also start at 08:00 in the morning. It should be noted that the teams that take the first and second places in the groups, as well as the best 8 teams that take the third place (a total of 32 national teams) will qualify for the 1/16 finals. The Australia - Turkey match of Group D, to be held on June 14, will start at 08:00 Baku time.
On June 16, the Iran - New Zealand match will start at 05:00 Baku time, close to morning. The 1/16 final matches will be held from June 28 to July 3, the 1/8 final matches from July 4 to July 7, the 1/4 final matches from July 9 to July 11, and the 1/2 final matches from July 14 to July 15. Semi-final matches will be held on July 14-15, both at 23:00 Baku time.
The match for third place will be held on July 18 in Miami, USA, and the final will be held on July 19 at the “MetLife” stadium in New Jersey, USA. The match for third place will start at 01:00 Baku time, and the final will start at 23:00.
The 1/16 final matches will start between 20:00 and 07:00 Baku time, and the 1/8 final matches will start between 20:00 and 04:00. Quarter-final matches will start at different times: July 9 at 00:00; July 10 at 23:00; July 13 at 01:00 and 05:00.
Time Zone Converter: Find Your Local World Cup Kick-Off
The useful takeaway is how this update affects teams, supporters, or match preparation before the tournament starts. Strong World Cup coverage should make the next team, fixture, or lineup implication clear.
Readers can use the related match and team pages to move from the news angle into practical tournament context. That keeps the article grounded in what fans search for before kickoff.