If you’re reading this, congratulations! You’ve, presumably, missed out on a ticket to the World Cup that actively hates its attending fans. No matter, because you can watch every game of the tournament for free in the UK (as long as you’re prepared not to sleep for about 25 of the next 39 nights).
The bad news? The Three Lions' hurt has now stretched to 60 years. But for the first time since 1998, the Tartan Army’s back in the big time!
Hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada – but mainly the U.S. – World Cup 2026 stands to be the ultimate summer hate-watch. Remember Brazil vs Germany in 2014? It’ll be just like that, only with football’s soul clad in yellow and blue, and the pummeling spread over five and a half weeks and 104 games.
That’s at least 62.5% more football than you’d have got at any previous editions, which technically makes this the biggest World Cup ever. And as any American would tell you, bigger is always better.
Yet football’s rose-tinted light has an annoying way of beautifying everything it touches. Behold Lamine Yamal, 18 years of age and already the most mesmerisingly assured footballer on the planet. Harry Kane, as pacey as a pensioner running for the bus with a cart full of groceries, yet deadly in the box. Kylian Mbappe, derided but far more effective on the international stage than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The unknown who lifts the roof off with a wonder-strike and earns a £60m move to Chelsea on a 12-year contract.
Like Roger Milla’s dance, Roberto Baggio’s penalty and Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt, let’s hope the enduring image of this World Cup is something that happens on the pitch rather than off it.
The heat is literally on. Leave your refillable water bottles at home, beware of the ICE and things might be okay. FIFA was right about one thing, it turns out: football has united the world in some respects.
How to watch World Cup 2026 live streams in the UK
In the UK, every game of the World Cup is free-to-air courtesy of either the BBC or ITV. Scroll down to find out whch games are on which channels.
Each of the broadcasters will also live stream their coverage on BBC iPlayer and ITVX respectively.
It's not something to be taken for granted, seeing as virtually every game is locked behind a paywall in some places, such as the U.S..
If you're abroad right now, you won't be able to tap into that free coverage unless you use a VPN, such as Norton VPN.
Use a VPN to watch World Cup 2026 from anywhere
A VPN lets you access your usual (geo-restricted) streaming services from anywhere in the world, all while protecting your data. Well worth a few pounds a month.
We recommend Norton VPN for its speed and reliability. Give it a whirl risk-free:
2026 World Cup fixtures
(All times BST)
GROUP STAGE
Thursday, June 11
8pm – Mexico vs South Africa | ITVX
Friday, June 12
3am – South Korea vs Czech Republic | ITVX
8pm – Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina | BBC iPlayer
Saturday, June 13
2am – USA vs Paraguay | BBC iPlayer
8pm – Qatar vs Switzerland | ITVX
11pm – Brazil vs Morocco | BBC iPlayer
Sunday, June 14
2am – Haiti vs Scotland | BBC iPlayer
5am – Australia vs Turkey | ITVX
6pm – Germany vs Curacao | ITVX
9pm – Netherlands vs Japan | ITVX
Monday, June 15
12am – Ivory Coast vs Ecuador | BBC iPlayer
3am – Sweden vs Tunisia | ITVX
5pm – Spain vs Cape Verde | ITVX
8pm – Belgium vs Egypt | BBC iPlayer
11pm – Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay | ITVX
Tuesday, June 16
2am – Iran vs New Zealand | BBC iPlayer
8pm – France vs Senegal | BBC iPlayer
11pm – Iraq vs Norway | BBC iPlayer
Wednesday, June 17
2am – Argentina vs Algeria | ITVX
5am – Austria vs Jordan | BBC iPlayer
6pm – Portugal vs DR Congo | BBC iPlayer
9pm – England vs Croatia | ITVX
Thursday, June 18
12am – Ghana vs Panama | ITVX
3am – Uzbekistan vs Colombia | BBC iPlayer
5pm – Czech Republic vs South Africa | BBC iPlayer
8pm – Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina | ITVX
11pm – Canada vs Qatar | ITVX
Friday, June 19
2am – Mexico vs South Korea | BBC iPlayer
8pm – USA vs Australia | BBC iPlayer
11pm – Scotland vs Morocco | ITVX
Saturday, June 20
2am – Brazil vs Haiti | ITVX
5am – Turkey vs Paraguay | ITVX
6pm – Netherlands vs Sweden | BBC iPlayer
9pm – Germany vs Ivory Coast | ITVX
Sunday, June 21
1am – Ecuador vs Curacao | BBC iPlayer
5am – Tunisia vs Japan | BBC iPlayer
5pm – Spain vs Saudi Arabia | BBC iPlayer
8pm – Belgium vs Iran | ITVX
11pm – Uruguay vs Cape Verde | BBC iPlayer
Monday, June 22
2am – New Zealand vs Egypt | ITVX
6pm – Argentina vs Austria | BBC iPlayer
10pm – France vs Iraq | BBC iPlayer
Tuesday, June 23
1am – Norway vs Senegal | ITVX
4am – Jordan vs Algeria | ITVX
6pm – Portugal vs Uzbekistan | ITVX
9pm – England vs Ghana | BBC iPlayer
Wednesday, June 24
12am – Panama vs Croatia | BBC iPlayer
3am – Colombia vs DR Congo | ITVX
8pm – Switzerland vs Canada | ITVX
8pm – Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Qatar | ITVX
11pm – Morocco vs Haiti | BBC iPlayer
11pm – Scotland vs Brazil | BBC iPlayer
Thursday, June 25
2am – South Africa vs South Korea | BBC iPlayer
2am – Czech Republic vs Mexico | BBC iPlayer
9pm – Curacao vs Ivory Coast | BBC iPlayer
9pm – Ecuador vs Germany | BBC iPlayer
Friday, June 26
12am – Tunisia vs Netherlands | BBC iPlayer
12am – Japan vs Sweden | BBC iPlayer
3am – Turkey vs USA | ITVX
3am – Paraguay vs Australia | ITVX
8pm – Norway vs France | ITVX
8pm – Senegal vs Iraq | ITVX
Saturday, June 27
1am – Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia | ITVX
1am – Uruguay vs Spain | ITVX
4am – New Zealand vs Belgium | BBC iPlayer
4am – Egypt vs Iran | BBC iPlayer
10pm – Panama vs England | ITVX
10pm – Croatia vs Ghana | ITVX
Sunday, June 28
12.30am – Colombia vs Portugal | BBC iPlayer
12.30am – DR Congo vs Uzbekistan | BBC iPlayer
3am – Algeria vs Austria | BBC iPlayer
3am – Jordan vs Argentina | BBC iPlayer
KNOCKOUT STAGE
ROUND OF 32
Sunday, June 28
8pm – A2 vs B2
Monday, June 29
6pm – C1 vs F2
9.30pm – E1 vs A/B/C/D/F3
Tuesday, June 30
2am – F1 vs C2
6pm – E2 vs I2
10pm – I1 vs C/D/F/G/H3
Wednesday, July 1
2am – A1 vs C/E/F/H/I3
5pm – L1 vs E/H/I/J/K3
9pm – G1 vs A/E/H/I/J3
Thursday, July 2
1am – D1 vs B/E/F/I/J3
8pm – H1 vs J2
Friday, July 3
12am – K2 vs L2
4am – B1 vs E/F/G/I/J3
7pm – D2 vs G2
11pm – J1 vs H2
Saturday, July 4
2.30am – K1 vs D/E/I/J/L3
ROUND OF 16
Saturday, July 4
6pm – Round of 16 game 1
10pm – Round of 16 game 2
Sunday, July 5
9pm – Round of 16 game 3
Monday, July 6
1am – Round of 16 game 4
8pm – Round of 16 game 5
Tuesday, July 7
1am – Round of 16 game 6
5pm – Round of 16 game 7
9pm – Round of 16 game 8
QUARTER-FINALS
Thursday, July 9
9pm – Quarter-final 1
Friday, July 10
8pm – Quarter-final 2
Saturday, July 11
10pm – Quarter-final 3
Sunday, July 12
2am – Quarter-final 4
SEMI-FINALS
Tuesday, July 14
8pm – Semi-final 1
Wednesday, July 15
8pm – Semi-final 2
FINALS
Saturday, July 18
10pm – Third-place playoff
Sunday, July 19
8pm – 2026 FIFA World Cup final
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