Not a single one of the first eight matches at the FIFA World Cup 2026 kicked off on time — and the trend is drawing attention from football's governing body.
Across those eight fixtures, the average delay to kick-off has been three minutes past the scheduled start time. The worst offender was Thursday's opening game between Mexico and South Africa, which began six minutes late. Saturday's meeting between Qatar and Switzerland was not far behind, getting under way almost five minutes after the official time.
The only two games to come close to a prompt start were Australia against Turkey, which began just 40 seconds late, and South Korea versus the Czech Republic, which was delayed by 51 seconds.
Scotland's wait goes on — briefly
Among the delayed fixtures was the Group C clash in Massachusetts between Haiti and Scotland. For Scottish supporters, 28 years had passed since their nation last appeared at a World Cup, so an extra two-and-a-half minutes hardly registered as a hardship. Scotland went on to claim a 1-0 victory — their first World Cup win since Italia '90 — meaning the Tartan Army had little reason to complain.
At the scheduled moment for both sides to walk out onto the pitch — eight minutes and 40 seconds before kick-off — the Haiti players were still not ready. Television footage showed a Fifa official hurrying them along. By the time both teams finally emerged from the tunnel, they were already 90 seconds behind schedule.
Pageantry adds complexity
Fifa plans every pre-match sequence in meticulous detail, producing a dedicated running order for each game that lists exact timings for when teams and match officials must assemble in the tunnel, enter the pitch, and stand for national anthems. Broadcasters rely on this schedule to manage commercial breaks without missing key ceremonial moments.
While the matches involving co-hosts Mexico, Canada, and the United States were each preceded by opening ceremonies, those events had concluded well ahead of kick-off and are not considered a contributing factor.
What may be playing a role, however, is Fifa's decision to expand pre-match pageantry. The governing body now requires the entire squad — not just the starting eleven — to gather in the centre circle for the national anthems, while large flags are displayed across both halves of the pitch. Fifa describes the ceremony as providing a
