WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Cup finals will begin next July 19 at 3 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
FIFA announced the start times for the tournament’s 104 matches on Saturday, a day after the draw for the 48-nation expansion tournament. Kick-off time is available to watch in European primetime (9pm) and UK primetime (8pm)
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According to AccuWeather, the average temperature in East Rutherford at 3 pm on July 19 over the past 30 years is 83 degrees (28 degrees Celsius), with a RealFeel Index of 89 (32).
Nine of the 10 World Cup finals from 1978 to 2014 started between 2pm and 3:30pm ET, with the exception of Japan in 2002, which started at 7am ET. The 2018 finals begin at 11 a.m. ET, with the championship game of the 2022 tournament taking place in Qatar at 10 a.m. ET.
The 1994 final kicked off at 12:30 pm local time (3:30 pm ET) at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The World Cup opener will be held in Mexico City on June 11, with Mexico’s three-team match against South Africa starting at 1pm local time (3pm ET).
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The semifinals will begin on July 14 at 2 pm (3 pm ET) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and at 3 pm the following day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, both of which have retractable roofs.
FIFA announced on February 4 last year that the final was scheduled to be held in New Jersey, and on June 12 announced the specific matchups for the new round of top 32, top 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals.
78 games will be played in the United States, including all games after the quarterfinals, with Canada and Mexico having 13 games each.
At an event at the Hilton Hotel in the capital, FIFA also announced the venues for the 54 group stage matches that have yet to be finalized in Friday’s draw, with only those confirmed for Groups A, B and D, which include co-hosts Mexico, Canada and the United States.
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South Korea is the only team besides Canada and Mexico not to play a game in the United States, opening their first game against the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland or North Macedonia in Guadalajara, then facing the Tri-Nations at the same venue, and finally facing South Africa in Monterrey.
The U.S. first-round games will be against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood at 6 pm local (9 pm ET), Australia seven days later at noon (3 pm ET) in Seattle, and either Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo on June 25 at 7 pm on SoFi.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
