England to open World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas
Thomas Tuchel’s men learned they would face Croatia, Ghana and Panama in Group L at Friday’s draw.
England will open their World Cup campaign against Croatia in the air-conditioned comfort of the AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
Thomas Tuchel’s men learned they would face Croatia, Ghana and Panama in Group L at Friday’s draw but had to wait until Saturday to learn the match venues and kick-off times.
The match against their 2018 semi-final conquerors kicks off at 9pm UK time on June 17, 3pm local time in Texas, at the home of the Dallas Cowboys NFL team.
The second match against Ghana on June 23 is a 4pm kick-off in Boston, 9pm in the UK, while the final group game against Panama at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, is a 5pm kick-off local time – 10pm in the UK on June 27.
Scotland missed out on facing Brazil in the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and will instead take on the five-time world champions in their final group match in the heat and humidity of Miami on June 24.
The match will kick off at 6pm local time, 11pm back in the UK. Steve Clarke’s men have faced Brazil four times at the World Cup finals previously but have failed to win any of those encounters.
There will be late nights for all armchair fans watching Scotland’s games, with the opening game against Haiti in Boston kicking off at 9pm local time – 2am on June 14 back at home.
The second game against Morocco on June 19 is also in Boston, kicking off at 6pm – 11pm in the UK.
The World Cup final will be a 3pm kick-off at the MetLife Stadium – an 8pm kick-off in the UK – on July 19.
England have the advantage of a match in the cool of Atlanta in the round of 32 on July 1 if they can win their group. The match kicks off at 5pm in the UK, 12pm local time.
Things heat up thereafter though for Tuchel’s men if they go down this path, with Mexico in Mexico City potentially lying in wait in the last 16, with the match kicking off at 6pm local time on July 5 – 1am in the UK on July 6.
Miami would be the venue for their quarter-final on this path, possibly against Brazil in a 5pm local time kick-off on July 11 – 10pm in the UK.
England will at least have had some exposure to the conditions in Miami, with the team set to hold a pre-tournament camp in Florida. That could be at Inter Miami’s training base, but that is yet to be confirmed.
The draw has largely placed England in the east of the United States and the Football Association is now working to identify a suitable base camp for the tournament itself.
The submission deadline for England’s preferences is January 9.
The Republic of Ireland already knew the venues for their matches should they qualify via the play-offs, having been drawn in Group A against co-hosts Mexico.
They now know their potential kick-off times too and will face South Korea in Guadalajara in a match kicking off at 8pm local time on June 11 – 3am on June 12 back in Ireland.
Ireland’s second game would be in Atlanta against South Africa, kicking off at 5pm in Ireland. The final group match against Mexico would be a 7pm kick-off at the Estadio Azteca on June 24, 2am on June 25 for home viewers.
Wales and Northern Ireland are two of the four play-off teams competing for a place in Group B alongside co-hosts Canada, plus Switzerland and Qatar.
All of their matches, should they make it, would kick off at 8pm BST.
