Kick-off times in Qatar for the 2022 World Cup aren’t exactly ideal for those watching in the United States.
The time difference between the US Eastern time zone and Doha is seven hours. Naturally, FIFA schedules the games based on the host country, not the million viewers around the world. Therefore, start times in Qatar make sense. The afternoon and evening games allow for cooler temperatures in the desert heat of and around Doha.
In fact, in the Qatari time zone, games start between noon and 9 pm, with most days having four games a day.
So what time will kick-offs be in Qatar if you’re an American spectator? Well, luckily FIFA follows a strict pattern on start times. It’s consistent throughout the tournament, albeit early in the day for those in the Western Hemisphere.
What time will kick-off be in Qatar?
In the United States, start times are generally in the morning, regardless of where you live. The following times are all Eastern Time.
Starting with the group stage, there are four games per day. On days one and two, the start times are at 5, 8, 11 and 14 hours. Depending on who is playing, FIFA fields some teams later and others earlier. For example, all three USMNT group stage games are at 2pm, while two of Australia’s games are in the first window.
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The exception to this is on matchday three of the group stage. Kickoffs overlap in each pool, so two games start at 10 a.m. and two games start at 2 p.m.
In the knockout stages, there are only two games per day. Each day of the knockout stage, except the semi-finals onwards, has games at 10 am and 2 pm The semi-finals, the third place game and the Final are the only games on their days. The semifinals are at 2 p.m., while the match for third place and the World Cup final are at 10 a.m. ET.
All games in the US are available on FOX or FS1. Spanish coverage is on Telemundo, Universo or Peacock Premium.
