Kickoff Times For 2022 World Cup For US Fans

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is just 10 months away and it’s never too early to prepare. A common question American fans will have is “what time are the World Cup games in the US?”

Assuming the USMNT does qualify this time, fans will be crossing their fingers that the team gets some favorable start times. The 2021 Arab Cup was a foretaste of how drastically different kick-off times will be in the US. For example, the third-place match was scheduled for 5 a.m. ET while the final was at 10 a.m. ET.

What time are the World Cup games in the US?

There will be four different kick-off times for the first two matches of the 2022 World Cup group stage. With Qatar eight hours ahead of the East Coast, the kick-off times are as follows.

Group Stage

Brutally Early Game: 5 a.m. ET

Still Quite Early Game: 8 a.m. ET

Leisurely Morning Game: 11 a.m. ET

Afternoon Game: 2 p.m. ET

The latter games in the tournament will be held later in the day to get the maximum number of viewers.

Final Round Of Group Stage/Knockout Rounds

Morning Game: 10 a.m. ET

Afternoon Game: 2 p.m. ET

FIFA and Qatar were considerate enough to schedule some games at 10 p.m. local time, giving American fans an afternoon game to watch. Whichever day the USMNT plays, it will be the same day that you suddenly feel quite sick and have to stay home from work or school.

The opening match of the 2022 World Cup is on November 21 and will feature Qatar 2022 playing a TBA opponent. The first kickoff falls under the “Bizarrely Early Game” category and it’s on a Monday, so good luck to all the journalists covering that.

Read Also: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifying Top Scorers Global