This summer’s World Cup is just over one week away, and if you’re going to be watching from Cyprus, here is everything you need to know about when, how, and where to watch the tournament, as well as who the favourites are.
When does it start and end and what times are the games?
The first match will take place on Thursday 11 June. Mexico, as one of three host nations, will kick-off proceedings against South Africa, which is a repeat of the opening fixture at the 2010 World Cup.
Kick off time (in Cyprus, as are all kick off times listed in this article) is at 10pm, and as far as this tournament is concerned, that is a relatively early start.
Indeed, the next game after that is so late it’s early. South Korea vs Czechia will kick off at 5am on Friday 12 June.
Depending on the day, match start times fall anywhere between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM (always on the hour).
If you’re a British expat cheering on the Three Lions, here are England’s kick off times in the group stage:
England vs. Croatia: Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 23:00
England vs. Ghana: Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 23:00
Panama vs. England: Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 00:00 (midnight Saturday night)
The final will take place on 19 July at 10pm.
Where can I watch the games?
If you want to watch from home, the World Cup will be broadcast exclusively on SIGMA TV. Unlike previous iterations where the state broadcaster CyBC (ΡΙΚ) aired the tournament, the private network SIGMA secured the complete, exclusive free-to-air television rights for all 104 matches of the expanded 48-team competition.
If you want to enjoy the game out with friends at a bar, check out our European football final Cyprus bar guide, which lists some of the best sports bars district by district in Cyprus:
As far as we know, they will be showing all the World Cup games.
Who are the favourites?
Oddschecker lists France first, with Bet365 pricing them at 5/1, followed by Spain at 9/2, England at 6/1, Brazil at 8/1 and Argentina at 8/1 in the outright winner table.
The lowest-ranked team shown at the bottom of the market is Haiti, priced at 3000/1.
General information about the World Cup
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted across three countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico. It will be the first World Cup staged across three host nations and the first edition of the tournament to feature 48 teams, up from the previous 32-team format.
Under the new format, the 48 teams are split into 12 groups of four. The top two teams in each group, plus the eight best third-placed teams, will qualify for a new round of 32.
The opening match will take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, while the final will be played in front of 82,500 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.