South Africa

South Africa last hosted the World Cup in 2010, and Bafana Bafana’s return to the tournament in 2026 is cause for celebration across the continent. The Group A schedule creates a demanding viewing window for fans in Johannesburg and Cape Town. South Africa uses Africa/Johannesburg (UTC+2), and the US venues mean very late nights.

The tournament opener is June 11 in Mexico City against Mexico, with a 13:00 local kickoff. In South Africa that is 20:00. Perfect: an evening kickoff to open the tournament.

The second match on June 18 is in Atlanta against the UEFA Path D winner, with a 12:00 Eastern kickoff. In Johannesburg that is 18:00. Another excellent slot.

The final group game on June 24 in Monterrey against South Korea kicks off at 19:00 Monterrey time (America/Monterrey, UTC-5 in summer). That translates to 02:00 in South Africa. The midnight match.

South Africa is in Group A alongside Mexico, South Korea, and the UEFA Path D winner. The opener against Mexico in the tournament’s first game adds enormous symbolic weight.

For South African fans watching from London and other European cities, the schedule is broadly friendly: Mexico City’s 13:00 landing as 19:00 in Europe, Atlanta’s 12:00 Eastern becoming 18:00 in London. The Monterrey finale is the late outlier everywhere.

Check the timezone converter on this page for every South Africa match time in your local timezone.