Evening World Cup kick-offs for England, but Scotland face 2am opener

England have been handed World Cup kick-off times which suit UK audiences – but Scotland fans face later finishes during next summer’s tournament.

England will play all three of their group games in the United States, with their first two matches against Croatia, on 17 June, and Ghana, on 23 June, kicking off at 21:00 BST.

Their final group game against Panama on 27 June begins at 22:00.

Scotland will play their Group C games in Boston and Miami, with their opener against Haiti on 14 June at Gillette Stadium kicking off at 02:00.

Steve Clarke’s side’s next two matches, against Morocco in Massachusetts on 19 June and five-time winners Brazil in Miami on 24 June, will both start at 23:00.

England’s opening match in Dallas will be played under a closed roof, with air conditioning in the stadium, because of the expected heat in Texas.

Their matches in Dallas and Boston – where Scotland play twice – will be on a temporary grass surface, as they normally operate with artificial turf.

Miami, the location of Scotland’s final group match against Brazil, is one place extreme heat might prove an issue during next summer’s tournament.

Should they qualify through two rounds of Uefa play-off matches in March, Wales or Northern Ireland would play all three group matches at 15:00 BST.

They would face Canada in Toronto on 12 June, Switzerland in Los Angeles on 18 June, and Qatar in Seattle on 24 June.

All times BST

England – Group L

21:00, Wed, 17th June v Croatia – Dallas

21:00, Tue, 23rd June v Ghana – Boston

22:00, Sat, 27th June v Panama – New Jersey

Scotland – Group C

02:00, Sun, 14 June v Haiti – Boston

23:00, Fri, 19 June v Morocco – Boston

23:00, Wed, 24 June v Brazil – Miami

The match venues and kick-off times for the tournament were confirmed one day after the draw for the group stage took place in Washington DC on Friday.

The first 48-team World Cup will be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States between 11 June and 19 July 2026.

Mexico will take on South Africa at Mexico City’s historic Estadio Azteca in the opening match of the expanded tournament, during which 104 matches will be played in 39 days.

That game – a repeat of the first match at the 2010 World Cup – will kick off at 19:00 BST on Thursday, 11 June.

The final match schedule will be confirmed in March, following the conclusion of the Fifa and Uefa play-off tournaments to decide the final six places.

The tournament will be hosted across 16 cities, spanning four time zones and three countries, at locations up to 2,800 miles apart.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino was joined by Brazil’s two-time World Cup winner Ronaldo, Italy’s 2006 winner Francesco Totti, Bulgaria’s World Cup 1994 Golden Boot winner Hristo Stoichkov and former United States centre-back Alexi Lalas to unveil the schedule on Saturday.