The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on Thursday, June 11, with hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, marking the start of the biggest tournament in football history.
For the first time, the World Cup will feature 48 teams competing across 104 matches in a month-long spectacle jointly hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada.
While excitement is building among football fans across Kenya, following the action live will present a major challenge due to the significant time difference between East Africa and North America. Many matches are scheduled to kick off in the early hours of the morning, forcing supporters to choose between sleep and football.
The opening fixture between Mexico and South Africa offers one of the most convenient viewing times for Kenyan audiences, beginning at 10pm East Africa Time (EAT). However, fans wishing to catch South Korea’s clash with Czechia less than seven hours later will need to wake up at 5am.
The first weekend of the tournament is packed with fixtures that could disrupt sleep schedules. On June 13, hosts United States face Paraguay at 4am EAT, while African football enthusiasts will closely follow Morocco’s highly anticipated encounter against five-time world champions Brazil at 1am EAT on June 14.
Other early-morning matches include Haiti versus Scotland at 4am and Australia against Türkiye at 7am on the same day.
African nations are expected to draw significant attention throughout the tournament. Senegal begin their campaign against France on June 16 at 10pm EAT in one of the standout group-stage fixtures involving an African side.
Fans will also be keenly watching Algeria’s meeting with reigning world champions Argentina on June 17 at 4am, DR Congo’s clash with Portugal later that evening, Egypt’s showdown against Belgium on June 15, and Ghana’s high-profile encounter with England on June 23.
Africa will be represented by South Africa, Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, DR Congo, Tunisia, Ivory Coast and Cape Verde, all hoping to make history and challenge football’s traditional powerhouses.
Not every match will require supporters to sacrifice sleep. Several attractive fixtures have been scheduled during favourable evening hours for East African viewers.
These include Spain against Cape Verde on June 15 at 7pm EAT, Germany versus Curaçao on June 14 at 8pm EAT, Portugal against Uzbekistan on June 23 at 8pm EAT, and England versus Ghana at 11pm EAT on the same day.
The group stage will run from June 11 to June 27 before the tournament progresses to the knockout rounds.
The Round of 32 is scheduled between June 28 and July 4, followed by the Round of 16 from July 4 to July 7. Quarter-finals will be played between July 9 and July 12, while the semi-finals are set for July 14 and July 15.
Unlike many of the group-stage fixtures, the latter stages of the competition offer more favourable viewing times for Kenyan audiences, with both semi-finals and the final scheduled during prime evening hours.
The third-place play-off will take place on July 19 before the tournament concludes later that day with the World Cup final, where one nation will be crowned the new world champion.
As the month-long football festival begins, Kenyan fans face a familiar World Cup dilemma: stay awake through the night to catch every moment live or rely on alarms and highlights as the race for football’s biggest prize unfolds across North America.
