PNG fans brace for early morning wake-up calls
PAPUA New Guinea football fans will need to rise early or tune in late mornings and evenings to catch the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage live, starting tomorrow morning (Friday 5am) when Mexico host South Africa.
Most matches fall between 5am and midday PNG time (all times on the official schedule moved to about 17 hours later), with a handful in the afternoon, making breakfast and lunch hours prime viewing slots.
The opening day’s second match will see South Korea playing Czechia at midday (Friday PNG time), also in the cultural heart of Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara.
This year’s event has been hailed as the largest edition of the tournament, with a record 48 teams competing across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The competition will run from June 11 to July 19, and will feature 104 matches in total.
For the first time, four nations will make their debut on football’s biggest stage: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.
The hosts have automatically qualified, with Mexico placed in Group A, Canada in Group B, and the United States in Group D. The expanded format divides the field into 12 groups of four, with the top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place finishers advancing to the Round of 32.
From there, knockout rounds will determine the finalists, culminating in the championship match at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.
The group stage promises intriguing matchups. Mexico will face South Korea, South Africa, and Czechia in Group A, while Canada takes on Bosnia & Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland in Group B.
Brazil headlines Group C alongside Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland. The United States will meet Paraguay, Australia, and Türkiye in Group D.
Germany’s Group E includes debutants Curaçao, Ivory Coast, and Ecuador. Other notable groups feature Spain with Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay in Group H, and Portugal with DR Congo, Uzbekistan, and Colombia in Group K.
England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama round out Group L.
The tournament also sees the return of former champions including Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, Uruguay, England, and Spain. Yet, notable absences cast a shadow: Italy have failed to qualify for the third consecutive time, while Denmark are also out.
Globally, the 2026 World Cup features nine teams from Asia (AFC), 10 from Africa (CAF), six each from North and Central America (CONCACAF) and South America (CONMEBOL), one from Oceania (OFC), and 16 from Europe (UEFA).
Meanwhile, upcoming best-time morning slots (5am-6am) for PNG viewers on Saturday are:
• Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina; and
• Qatar vs Switzerland.
On Sunday, June 14, at 5am, Argentina will play Algeria.
Other prime time viewing for PNG audiences are:
• USA vs Paraguay on Saturday at 11am;
• Brazil vs Morocco (midday Sunday); and
• Germany vs Curaçao (3pm Sunday).
Evening matches are rare but ideally scheduled for relaxed home viewing would include:
• Netherlands vs Japan (8pm Sunday);
• Côte d’Ivoire vs Ecuador (11pm Sunday); and
• Belgium vs Egypt (7pm Monday).
