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When Do the World Cup Semifinals Start?
The 2026 World Cup has reached its final four.
What began on June 11 with a record 48 teams is now down to four of the biggest names in world soccer: France, Spain, England and Argentina—all just two wins away from lifting the trophy.
With the quarterfinals concluding on July 11—or July 12 depending on your location—the tournament now enters a brief pause before the final push. The break gives the remaining teams valuable time to recover, reset and prepare for the pressure of the semifinals.
So when does the action return, and when will the last four teams battle for a place in the World Cup final?
When Are the World Cup Semifinals?
There will be no World Cup games for the remainder of Sunday, July 12, or on Monday, July 13.
The semifinal action resumes on Tuesday, July 14, when France faces Spain at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. PT and 8 p.m. BST.
England and Argentina will then meet 24 hours later on Wednesday, July 15, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, with kickoff set for the same time slots: 3 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. PT and 8 p.m. BST.
The two winners will advance to the 2026 World Cup final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 19, while the defeated semifinalists will compete for third place on Saturday, July 18.
Players involved in these late stages of the tournament will be given short breaks following the tournament’s conclusion, but clubs across Europe will quickly resume their preseason preparations and Major League Soccer is just over a week away from restarting, although Inter Miami are going to have to cope without Lionel Messi for a little while longer.
World Cup Schedule—Semifinals Onwards
Game | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
Semifinal 1 (France vs. Spain) | Tuesday, July 14 | 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. BST |
Semifinal 2 (England vs. Argentina) | Wednesday, July 15 | 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. BST |
Third place playoff | Saturday, July 18 | 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. BST |
Final | Sunday, July 19 | 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. BST |
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Barnaby Lane, better known as Barney, is a soccer writer for SI FC. With nearly a decade of experience in the industry, he has worked for a range of household-name publications in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and has interviewed some of the world’s biggest athletes—from Usain Bolt and Rafael Nadal to Christian Pulisic (though his favorite interview remains Adebayo Akinfenwa). Barney specializes in Premier League soccer, covering everything from the nostalgia of years gone by to the modern, vastly different landscape of today’s game. He also has experience reporting on La Liga and Major League Soccer, the latter of which he developed a particular affinity for during his university days at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.