England vs Croatia kicks off at 3:00 PM CDT (UTC-5) on June 17, 2026 at AT&T Stadium, Dallas. This is a Group L opener at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Kickoff times around the world

Who gets a comfortable window?

Dallas gets a 3:00 PM CDT Wednesday afternoon slot. New York at 4:00 PM EDT and Sao Paulo at 5:00 PM BRT are both good afternoon viewing. London at 9:00 PM BST is a Wednesday evening for England supporters, well within viewing range for the entire country. Zagreb (CEST) at 10:00 PM is also a comfortable Croatian evening. This is one of the better-scheduled matches for both British and Croatian audiences: mid-week evenings that keep their domestic television audiences largely intact. Dubai crosses midnight at 12:00 AM GST. Mumbai at 1:30 AM IST is late. Tokyo at 5:00 AM JST and Sydney at 6:00 AM AEST are early mornings.

Historical context

England and Croatia’s most historically weighted meeting is the 2018 World Cup semi-final in Moscow, where Croatia won 2-1 after extra time. That match kicked off at 20:00 Moscow time, translating to 18:00 London time. The 9:00 PM London window in 2026 is three hours later but still prime time. England appeared at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 finals with domestic evening kickoffs; the 9:00 PM slot continues that comfortable scheduling pattern.

Check current time in London at whatisthetime.now/london and in Zagreb at whatisthetime.now/zagreb.

For match preview and analysis, see whensport.com