While the ongoing 2017/18 season may not yet be over, players and football fans will have one eye on the upcoming World Cup. The highly-anticipated tournament in Russia is fast approaching, with kick off not so far away.
The calendar has been marked for 14 June for the opening game between the host nation and Saudi Arabia. This year’s edition will follow a similar schedule to Brazil 2014. While kick-off in local time will be different due to the different time zone, the earliest games will mostly commence at noon – GMT time – and the latest matches will start in the evening.
Fans in the USA are unlucky, as the latest kick-offs are a few hours after mid-day. Luckily, the 2018 World Cup will be held during the summer – the same can’t be said for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar – which means many will be on holiday and free to enjoy the competition.
Germany, the reigning world champions, will be hoping to defend their title. However, they will face stiff competition from a rejuvenated Brazil side, Spain, France, and possibly Argentina. Then there are the exciting debutants such as Iceland and Panama who will be hoping to enjoy a memorable tournament.
FIFA World Cup 2018 schedule
FIFA World Cup 2018 fixtures dates, listed by rounds:
- Group stages: June 14-28, 2018
- Round of 16: June 30 to July 3, 2018
- Quarter-finals: July 6-7, 2018
- Semi-finals: July 10-11, 2018
When is the World Cup 2018 final?
The World Cup final is scheduled for Sunday, July 15, 2018 at 18:00 local time in Moscow. That is, 8:00 AM PT/11:00 AM ET in the United States. Meanwhile, the Third-Place final will take place a day before on Saturday, July 14, 2018 in Saint Petersburg.
So if you are worried you might make plans that will conflict with when your favorite team is playing, we’ve got you covered. Here are the geo-localized kick-off times and dates for the entire 64 fixtures.
