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, at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium where the final will be played, begins at 22:00 BST.

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 BST.

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 BST.

England’s opening match in Dallas will be played under a closed roof, with air conditioning in the AT&T Stadium at 15:00 local time, 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.

England’s match in Boston kicks off at 16:00 local time, while Scotland will play at 21:00 and 18:00 in their two matches at the Gillette Stadium.

Miami, the location of Scotland’s final group match against Brazil – which will kick off at 18:00 local time – is one location extreme heat and humidity 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 20:00 BST.

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

Pubs in England and Wales could stay open until 01:00 next summer if a home nation reaches the quarter-final stage, after the government launched a public consultation on extending pub licensing hours.

All times BST unless stated

England – Group L

21:00, Wed, 17 June v Croatia – Dallas (15:00 local)

21:00, Tue, 23 June v Ghana – Boston (16:00 local)

22:00, Sat, 27 June v Panama – New Jersey (17:00 local)

Scotland – Group C

02:00, Sun, 14 June v Haiti – Boston (21:00 local)

23:00, Fri, 19 June v Morocco – Boston (18:00 local)

23:00, Wed, 24 June v Brazil – Miami (18:00 local)

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 20:00 BST on Thursday, 11 June.

The World Cup final will kick-off at 20:00 BST on 19 July.

The semi-finals, hosted in Dallas and Atlanta, will also begin at 20:00 BST.

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.

Governing body Fifa was urged to avoid afternoon games at several locations next summer, after research led by Queen’s University Belfast found the temperatures at 14 of the 16 stadiums being used could exceed potentially dangerous levels.

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.

Analysis by BBC Sport football issues writer Dale Johnson

England fans face one of the most gruelling travel schedules if they are to follow their team all the way to the World Cup final.

If the Three Lions win Group L and go on to the final, supporters will have to travel 6,468.5 miles.

That is starting off in Dallas and finishing up in East Rutherford, with a total travel time of just under 19 hours.

The flight from Dallas to Foxborough for the second group game, and the trip to Mexico City and back between the last 16 and the quarter-final, accounts for most of it.

England would have less travel as group runners-up, with their journeys amounting to 5,970.4 miles and a total travel time of 18 and a half hours.

Portugal and Spain have it worse, even though they stay in Houston and Atlanta respectively for their first two group games.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal travel 6,781.9 miles with more than 22 hours in the air, while Spain must make trips totalling 6,667.2 miles, which will take 18 hours and 15 minutes.

France fans are the big winners, with just 2,675 miles on the clock, taking 12 and a half hours. They even have the luxury of two short train trips between East Rutherford and Philadelphia. The 1,561-mile journey from Foxborough and Dallas for the semi-final accounts for well over half of the travelling.

Mexico fare second best, largely because by winning their group they would have three consecutive games at the Azteca – from their final group game through to a last-16 tie. Their total travel works out of 3,199.7 miles. At just over 10 hours, El Tri supporters have the lowest travel time.

Third best are Germany on 4,141.5 miles, which would take 15 and a half hours.

And what about Scotland? If they shocked Brazil and Morocco, won their group and went on to reach the final, they would travel 6,083.3 miles taking 18 hours.

If Scotland qualify as group runners-up, there is a little more travel, with 6,248 miles which is just over 18 hours.