FIFA World Cup 2026 Schedule in Iraq Time (AST)

All 104 matches converted to AST, kick-off times sorted chronologically.

Group Stage (72 matches)

Match Teams Date Kick-off (AST) Venue
#1 · Grp A Mexico vs South Africa Thu Jun 11 10:00 PM AST Mexico City #2 · Grp A South Korea vs Czech Republic Fri Jun 12 5:00 AM AST Guadalajara #7 · Grp B Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Fri Jun 12 10:00 PM AST Toronto #19 · Grp D USA vs Paraguay Sat Jun 13 4:00 AM AST Los Angeles #8 · Grp B Qatar vs Switzerland Sat Jun 13 10:00 PM AST San Francisco Bay Area #13 · Grp C Brazil vs Morocco Sun Jun 14 1:00 AM AST New York/New Jersey #14 · Grp C Haiti vs Scotland Sun Jun 14 4:00 AM AST Boston #20 · Grp D Australia vs Turkiye Sun Jun 14 7:00 AM AST Vancouver #25 · Grp E Germany vs Curaçao Sun Jun 14 8:00 PM AST Houston #31 · Grp F Netherlands vs Japan Sun Jun 14 11:00 PM AST Dallas #26 · Grp E Ivory Coast vs Ecuador Mon Jun 15 2:00 AM AST Philadelphia #32 · Grp F Sweden vs Tunisia Mon Jun 15 5:00 AM AST Monterrey #37 · Grp G Belgium vs Egypt Mon Jun 15 10:00 PM AST Seattle #43 · Grp H Spain vs Cape Verde Mon Jun 15 7:00 PM AST Atlanta #38 · Grp G Iran vs New Zealand Tue Jun 16 4:00 AM AST Los Angeles #44 · Grp H Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay Tue Jun 16 1:00 AM AST Miami #49 · Grp I France vs Senegal Tue Jun 16 10:00 PM AST New York/New Jersey #50 · Grp I Iraq vs Norway Wed Jun 17 1:00 AM AST Boston #55 · Grp J Argentina vs Algeria Wed Jun 17 4:00 AM AST Kansas City #56 · Grp J Austria vs Jordan Wed Jun 17 7:00 AM AST San Francisco Bay Area #61 · Grp K Portugal vs DR Congo Wed Jun 17 8:00 PM AST Houston #67 · Grp L England vs Croatia Wed Jun 17 11:00 PM AST Dallas #68 · Grp L Ghana vs Panama Thu Jun 18 2:00 AM AST Toronto #62 · Grp K Uzbekistan vs Colombia Thu Jun 18 5:00 AM AST Mexico City #3 · Grp A Czech Republic vs South Africa Thu Jun 18 7:00 PM AST Atlanta #9 · Grp B Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina Thu Jun 18 10:00 PM AST Los Angeles #10 · Grp B Canada vs Qatar Fri Jun 19 1:00 AM AST Vancouver #4 · Grp A Mexico vs South Korea Fri Jun 19 4:00 AM AST Guadalajara #21 · Grp D USA vs Australia Fri Jun 19 10:00 PM AST Seattle #15 · Grp C Scotland vs Morocco Sat Jun 20 1:00 AM AST Boston #16 · Grp C Brazil vs Haiti Sat Jun 20 4:00 AM AST Philadelphia #22 · Grp D Turkiye vs Paraguay Sat Jun 20 7:00 AM AST San Francisco Bay Area #33 · Grp F Netherlands vs Sweden Sat Jun 20 8:00 PM AST Houston #27 · Grp E Germany vs Ivory Coast Sat Jun 20 11:00 PM AST Toronto #28 · Grp E Ecuador vs Curaçao Sun Jun 21 3:00 AM AST Kansas City #34 · Grp F Tunisia vs Japan Sun Jun 21 7:00 AM AST Monterrey #39 · Grp G Belgium vs Iran Sun Jun 21 10:00 PM AST Los Angeles #45 · Grp H Spain vs Saudi Arabia Sun Jun 21 7:00 PM AST Atlanta #40 · Grp G New Zealand vs Egypt Mon Jun 22 4:00 AM AST Vancouver #46 · Grp H Uruguay vs Cape Verde Mon Jun 22 1:00 AM AST Miami #57 · Grp J Argentina vs Austria Mon Jun 22 8:00 PM AST Dallas #51 · Grp I France vs Iraq Tue Jun 23 12:00 AM AST Philadelphia #52 · Grp I Norway vs Senegal Tue Jun 23 3:00 AM AST New York/New Jersey #58 · Grp J Jordan vs Algeria Tue Jun 23 6:00 AM AST San Francisco Bay Area #63 · Grp K Portugal vs Uzbekistan Tue Jun 23 8:00 PM AST Houston #69 · Grp L England vs Ghana Tue Jun 23 11:00 PM AST Boston #70 · Grp L Panama vs Croatia Wed Jun 24 2:00 AM AST Toronto #64 · Grp K Colombia vs DR Congo Wed Jun 24 5:00 AM AST Guadalajara #11 · Grp B Switzerland vs Canada Wed Jun 24 10:00 PM AST Vancouver #12 · Grp B Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar Wed Jun 24 10:00 PM AST Seattle #17 · Grp C Scotland vs Brazil Thu Jun 25 1:00 AM AST Miami #18 · Grp C Morocco vs Haiti Thu Jun 25 1:00 AM AST Atlanta #5 · Grp A Czech Republic vs Mexico Thu Jun 25 4:00 AM AST Mexico City #6 · Grp A South Africa vs South Korea Thu Jun 25 4:00 AM AST Monterrey #29 · Grp E Curaçao vs Ivory Coast Thu Jun 25 11:00 PM AST Philadelphia #30 · Grp E Ecuador vs Germany Thu Jun 25 11:00 PM AST New York/New Jersey #35 · Grp F Japan vs Sweden Fri Jun 26 2:00 AM AST Dallas #36 · Grp F Tunisia vs Netherlands Fri Jun 26 2:00 AM AST Kansas City #23 · Grp D Turkiye vs USA Fri Jun 26 5:00 AM AST Los Angeles #24 · Grp D Paraguay vs Australia Fri Jun 26 5:00 AM AST San Francisco Bay Area #53 · Grp I Norway vs France Fri Jun 26 10:00 PM AST Boston #54 · Grp I Senegal vs Iraq Fri Jun 26 10:00 PM AST Toronto #48 · Grp H Uruguay vs Spain Sat Jun 27 3:00 AM AST Guadalajara #47 · Grp H Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia Sat Jun 27 3:00 AM AST Houston #41 · Grp G Egypt vs Iran Sat Jun 27 6:00 AM AST Seattle #42 · Grp G New Zealand vs Belgium Sat Jun 27 6:00 AM AST Vancouver #71 · Grp L Panama vs England Sun Jun 28 12:00 AM AST New York/New Jersey #72 · Grp L Croatia vs Ghana Sun Jun 28 12:00 AM AST Philadelphia #65 · Grp K Colombia vs Portugal Sun Jun 28 2:30 AM AST Miami #66 · Grp K DR Congo vs Uzbekistan Sun Jun 28 2:30 AM AST Atlanta #59 · Grp J Algeria vs Austria Sun Jun 28 5:00 AM AST Kansas City #60 · Grp J Jordan vs Argentina Sun Jun 28 5:00 AM AST Dallas

Round of 32 (16 matches)

Match Teams Date Kick-off (AST) Venue
#73 pos-2a vs pos-2b Sun Jun 28 10:00 PM AST Los Angeles #76 pos-1c vs pos-2f Mon Jun 29 8:00 PM AST Houston #74 pos-1e vs pos-3a/b/c/d/f Mon Jun 29 11:30 PM AST Boston #75 pos-1f vs pos-2c Tue Jun 30 4:00 AM AST Monterrey #78 pos-2e vs pos-2i Tue Jun 30 8:00 PM AST Dallas #77 pos-1i vs pos-3c/d/f/g/h Wed Jul 1 12:00 AM AST New York/New Jersey #79 pos-1a vs pos-3c/e/f/h/i Wed Jul 1 4:00 AM AST Mexico City #80 pos-1l vs pos-3e/h/i/j/k Wed Jul 1 7:00 PM AST Atlanta #82 pos-1g vs pos-3a/e/h/i/j Wed Jul 1 11:00 PM AST Seattle #81 pos-1d vs pos-3b/e/f/i/j Thu Jul 2 3:00 AM AST San Francisco Bay Area #84 pos-1h vs pos-2j Thu Jul 2 10:00 PM AST Los Angeles #83 pos-2k vs pos-2l Fri Jul 3 2:00 AM AST Toronto #85 pos-1b vs pos-3e/f/g/i/j Fri Jul 3 6:00 AM AST Vancouver #88 pos-2d vs pos-2g Fri Jul 3 9:00 PM AST Dallas #86 pos-1j vs pos-2h Sat Jul 4 1:00 AM AST Miami #87 pos-1k vs pos-3d/e/i/j/l Sat Jul 4 4:30 AM AST Kansas City

Round of 16 (8 matches)

Match Teams Date Kick-off (AST) Venue
#90 w73 vs w75 Sat Jul 4 8:00 PM AST Houston #89 w74 vs w77 Sun Jul 5 12:00 AM AST Philadelphia #91 w76 vs w78 Sun Jul 5 11:00 PM AST New York/New Jersey #92 w79 vs w80 Mon Jul 6 3:00 AM AST Mexico City #93 w83 vs w84 Mon Jul 6 10:00 PM AST Dallas #94 w81 vs w82 Tue Jul 7 3:00 AM AST Seattle #95 w86 vs w88 Tue Jul 7 7:00 PM AST Atlanta #96 w85 vs w87 Tue Jul 7 11:00 PM AST Vancouver

Quarter-final (4 matches)

Match Teams Date Kick-off (AST) Venue
#97 w89 vs w90 Thu Jul 9 11:00 PM AST Boston #98 w93 vs w94 Fri Jul 10 10:00 PM AST Los Angeles #99 w91 vs w92 Sun Jul 12 12:00 AM AST Miami #100 w95 vs w96 Sun Jul 12 4:00 AM AST Kansas City

Semi-final (2 matches)

Match Teams Date Kick-off (AST) Venue
#101 w97 vs w98 Tue Jul 14 10:00 PM AST Dallas #102 w99 vs w100 Wed Jul 15 10:00 PM AST Atlanta

Match for Third Place (1 match)

Match Teams Date Kick-off (AST) Venue
#103 l101 vs l102 Sun Jul 19 12:00 AM AST Miami

Final (1 match)

Match Teams Date Kick-off (AST) Venue
#104 w101 vs w102 Sun Jul 19 10:00 PM AST New York/New Jersey

The FIFA World Cup 2026 runs from June 11 to July 19, hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States across 16 cities. All 104 matches on this page are converted to Arabia Standard Time (AST, UTC+3), the year-round offset Iraq has used since the country abolished daylight saving time in 2008.

Match-day rhythms place most fixtures in the late-evening and overnight Iraqi window. Matches in Mexico City and on the US Eastern Time coast (Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami) and in Toronto typically kick off between 19:00 and 06:00 AST. US Central Time hosts (Dallas, Houston, Kansas City) push starts to 20:00 to 07:00 AST. US Pacific Time hosts (Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver) put marquee evening matches as late as 22:00 to 09:00 AST.

Iraq plays in Group I alongside France, Norway, and Senegal, ending a 40-year absence from the men’s World Cup since the team’s only previous appearance at Mexico 1986. The Lions of Mesopotamia open against Norway in Boston (Tuesday, June 16, 01:00 AST on Wednesday June 17, a deep-night fixture), faces 2018 World Cup winners France in Philadelphia (Monday, June 22, 00:00 AST on Tuesday June 23, midnight kick), and closes the group against AFCON winners Senegal in Toronto (Friday, June 26, 22:00 AST). The Senegal match is the friendliest viewing window of the campaign; the Norway and France fixtures land in deep-night Iraqi time, requiring late-night watch parties across Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, and Erbil.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 runs June 11 to July 19, 2026. All 104 matches converted to Iraq local time (AST, UTC+03:00). Opening match is Mexico vs South Africa on Thu Jun 11 at 10:00 PM AST. Final is Sun Jul 19 at 10:00 PM AST.

Frequently asked questions

When does Iraq play at the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Iraq plays three Group I matches: vs Norway on Tuesday, June 16 in Boston (kick-off 01:00 AST on Wednesday June 17, a deep-night fixture); vs France on Monday, June 22 in Philadelphia (kick-off 00:00 AST on Tuesday June 23); and vs Senegal on Friday, June 26 in Toronto (kick-off 22:00 AST). Knockout fixtures depend on Group I finishing positions and run from June 28 through the Final on July 19.

What group is Iraq in at the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Iraq is in Group I with France, Norway, and Senegal. The top two teams from each of the twelve groups plus the eight best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32. This is Iraq's second World Cup appearance and the first since Mexico 1986, ending a 40-year absence from the men's tournament. Iraq qualified through the AFC inter-confederation playoff against the IC path 2 winner.

What time will World Cup 2026 matches be on in Iraq?

Most matches will air between 19:00 AST and 09:00 AST. Mexico City and US Eastern Time matches air between 19:00 and 06:00 AST. US Pacific Time matches air from 22:00 to 09:00 AST. The opening match (Mexico vs South Africa) kicks off at 22:00 AST on Thursday, June 11. The Final is 22:00 AST on Sunday, July 19.

Does Iraq observe daylight saving time during the World Cup 2026?

No. Iraq abolished daylight saving time in 2008 and has used Arabia Standard Time (AST, UTC+3) year-round since. Every kick-off time on this page applies without adjustment for Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and the rest of Iraq. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Yemen also share AST (UTC+3); the same kick-offs apply to Riyadh, Kuwait City, Doha, Manama, and Sanaa.