With a World Cup on the other side of the planet, it’s a good question to ask what time World Cup games start in the US. From Doha to New York, there’s a difference of seven hours.
With the upcoming 2022 World Cup set to take place in Qatar, the matches will be broadcast here in the United States at a slightly unusual time. Fortunately, these start times are consistent throughout the tournament. You can count on games starting at the same time four times a day throughout the tournament.
During the group stage, when there are four matches each day, the World Cup matches are for the most part at consistent times. The following are all relative to the Eastern time zone.
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What time are the World Cup games for US viewers?
The first games start at 5 am ET, followed by other games at 8 am ET, 11 am ET and 2 pm ET Of course, Americans in different time zones must adjust for that time based on where they live.
Those who live on the West Coast may need to set their DVRs to record previous games. The opening matches of each matchday will begin at 2:00 am in the Pacific time zone.
To complicate matters, there are some exceptions to these group stage matches. The opening match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador will be played at 11 am ET on November 20. This matchup will be the only match on that particular day. Then the next day, there are no games scheduled for the 5 am ET time slot. Therefore, the first game on November 21 is at 8 am ET, then at 11 am ET and at 2 pm ET
The complexity continues in the third and final day of the group stage. There are still four games left in the final four days of the group stage. However, these are more than two time slots. FIFA does this in an attempt to prevent match-fixing between teams. Two games start at 10 am ET, while another group has two games at 2 pm ET on the same day.
Knockout Stages
Fortunately, the schedule becomes a bit easier to follow once the tournament is in the knockout stage. Like the final group stage, the round of 16 and quarterfinal matches will be played at 10 am ET and 2 pm ET. The two semifinal games will take place at 2 pm ET on consecutive days.
The match for third place is set for December 17 at 10 am ET and finally the final will be played the next day at 10 am ET. Qatar is in the Arabic time zone (GMT +3). They do not have to account for any changes in the daylight saving time clock.
PHOTO: IMAGO / Sven Simon
