The 2026 World Cup is free on UK television. BBC and ITV have split the 104 matches between them, every single one available without a subscription on BBC iPlayer, ITVX, or one of their main linear channels. From the opening fixture in Mexico City on 11 June through to the final at MetLife Stadium on 19 July, you can watch the lot for the price of a TV licence and not a penny more. Both England and Scotland qualified, the latter for the first time since France 1998. This guide covers every channel, every England and Scotland match by name, the streaming routes, accessibility provision, and what we will not be recommending you do.
The rights split at a glance
BBC and ITV carry the 2026 World Cup between them, splitting the 104 matches roughly 50/50 with the more contested choices resolved by lottery between the two broadcasters. The pair agreed years ago that every match would be available free-to-air, and that commitment has held. Coverage runs across BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1 and ITV4 on linear television, plus the streaming apps BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
ITV opened the tournament with the lottery's first pick, taking the inaugural match on 11 June: hosts Mexico against South Africa. The BBC followed with the marquee Wednesday-evening fixtures in week one. From there the rotation runs through to the knockouts, where the broadcasters split the round of 32 and round of 16, share the quarter-finals between them, and converge on the semi-finals and final. The final on 19 July is the only fixture broadcast simultaneously by both networks; pick whichever has your preferred commentary team.
BBC's coverage
The BBC carries roughly half the tournament across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, with every BBC match available at no cost beyond the licence fee. This is the broadcaster's first World Cup since Qatar 2022, and the production team has confirmed iPlayer will offer selected fixtures in 4K Ultra High Definition for compatible smart TVs. Full HD streams to every other device.
Match of the Day, the institution that has anchored English football coverage since 1964, returns each evening of the group stage with extended highlights and analysis on BBC One and iPlayer. Lineker fronts the studio coverage as he has done since 1999, with Shearer, Micah Richards and a rotating cast of guest analysts on punditry.
BBC 5 Live carries radio commentary on every BBC fixture and several of the bigger ITV ones under the long-standing 5 Live football rights agreement. Extended phone-in shows follow the marquee matches, with 606 covering each England and Scotland fixture across the tournament. BBC Sounds keeps every commentary, every Match of the Day episode and every podcast on demand, no subscription, no time limit while the rights remain with the BBC.
ITV's coverage
ITV opens the tournament on 11 June with hosts Mexico against South Africa, a slot the broadcaster picked first in the rights lottery. Their main coverage runs on ITV1 with overflow to ITV4 when fixtures clash, and ITVX carries every ITV match live and on demand at no cost. The streaming app launched a redesign in late 2025 with faster live load times and a per-match highlights feed that surfaces in-app within 30 seconds of full-time.
The on-screen team is led by Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon as the senior commentary pairing, with Roy Keane returning to the studio after his 2024 hiatus. The broadcaster has confirmed an expanded line-up of women's analysts including former Lioness Karen Carney and Anita Asante, an editorial decision that lands well after the post-Euros and post-Australia 2023 audience growth in women's football coverage.
ITV's tournament coverage is HD across all platforms. The broadcaster has not committed to 4K, citing infrastructure costs that the licence-fee BBC absorbs differently. ITV4 picks up the overflow when two ITV-allocated matches clash, which happens twice in the group stage and once in the round of 32.
England's path
England arrive at the tournament off the back of a perfect qualifying campaign, eight wins from eight without conceding a single goal. Thomas Tuchel's first World Cup as England manager. The squad combines the established core of Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham with the newer faces who broke through in 2025 and the 2025/26 club season.
Group L pairs them with Croatia, Ghana and Panama. The opener against Croatia on 17 June lands on ITV1, the rematch of the 2018 semi-final that Croatia won in extra time and a fixture both broadcasters wanted. The middle group game against Ghana on 23 June is on BBC One, the marquee Tuesday-evening slot at peak UK viewing. The group concludes with Panama on 27 June, back on ITV1.
Should England finish in the top two, their round of 32 fixture lands on the BBC. The BBC also picked the round of 16 and a potential semi-final. ITV holds the quarter-final slot. The final on 19 July is shown by both broadcasters. Radio coverage of every England match is on BBC 5 Live, with extended post-match analysis on the same station and BBC Sounds.
Scotland's path
Scotland's first World Cup since France 1998. A 28-year absence ended at Hampden Park on a wet Tuesday night in November 2025, a 4-2 win over Denmark with McLean and Tierney scoring late and McGinn's penalty winning it. The Tartan Army has been waiting for this since the Brian McClair generation.
The draw landed Scotland in Group C with Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. Steve Clarke's side opens against Haiti on 14 June, live on the BBC, the late-evening UK slot that should pull a strong post-pub audience for the first competitive Scotland World Cup match in three decades. The Tartan Army's clash with Morocco on 19 June, the most winnable group fixture on paper, lands on ITV1 and is also broadcast by STV in Scotland under the dual-licence arrangement that has run since 1955. The most-anticipated of the three, Scotland against Brazil on 24 June, is on the BBC.
Scotland are unfancied by every reputable bookmaker to make the round of 32, but the squad's qualifying form, the contributions of Tierney, McTominay and Andy Robertson, and the fact they finished above Norway in qualifying suggest there is more to lean on than romance.
Watching from abroad
If you are travelling outside the UK during the tournament, neither BBC iPlayer nor ITVX will work without a UK IP address. The broadcasters geo-restrict their streaming services as part of their UK-funded remit; this is the same restriction that applies to every other iPlayer and ITVX programme.
There is a separate guide on this site to watching UK football abroad legally, covering iPlayer's account-linked travel feature for short trips, the licensed international rebroadcast options that exist for major tournaments, and the few host-country broadcasters that carry the same matches in English commentary. The short version: iPlayer travels for a few weeks if you sign in before leaving the UK, and FIFA's official tournament partner network covers most major countries.
Accessibility
Both BBC and ITV are required by Ofcom to provide subtitling, audio description and sign-language interpretation for live football coverage. The BBC has been the more committed of the two on access services historically and has confirmed sign-language interpretation will be available on BBC iPlayer for the tournament's marquee fixtures including both semi-finals and the final.
Audio description, the live narration of action for blind and visually-impaired viewers, runs across both networks on every fixture. It is available through the standard accessibility menus on connected TVs and within the iPlayer and ITVX streaming apps.
Captions are on by default on iPlayer and ITVX after the apps' 2025 accessibility-toggle updates; if you cannot find them, both apps put the toggle two taps deep in the player UI. For deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers, the BBC also offers signed Match of the Day on the BBC Two daytime schedule and on iPlayer's accessibility shelf.
What you won't find here
We will not recommend a VPN to bypass UK rights restrictions. Using a VPN to access BBC iPlayer or ITVX from outside the UK breaches the terms of service of both broadcasters and the BBC's licence-fee funding model; while individual enforcement is rare, it is not something we will send our readers towards.
Equally, we will not be linking to grey-market or unauthorised streams, the IPTV resellers, free-streaming sites or Reddit threads that surface for the marquee fixtures every tournament. You do not need any of it. Every match of this World Cup is free-to-air in the UK on a licensed broadcaster's platform; the alternative routes are at best legally questionable and at worst genuinely risky, both for your bank details and for the underlying football economy that the licensed rights deals fund.
If you cannot watch a fixture for time-zone or scheduling reasons, both BBC iPlayer and ITVX carry full match replays at no cost.
The full schedule
For the complete fixture list, group standings as they develop, kickoff times in UK local time, and a per-match overview of which broadcaster carries each fixture, see our dedicated [World Cup 2026 hub](/league/world-cup). The hub updates throughout the tournament with results, group tables, and the knockout bracket as it fills out from 30 June onwards. Each fixture also has its own how-to-watch page with the channel, kickoff time and streaming route.
FAQ
Is the World Cup 2026 free to watch in the UK?
Yes. Every one of the 104 matches is free-to-air on either BBC or ITV. You do not need a paid subscription on any UK broadcaster to watch any fixture. The only requirement is a TV licence, which is required for any live BBC viewing on TV or iPlayer.
What channels show the World Cup in the UK?
The tournament is split between BBC One, BBC Two and ITV1 on linear television, with overflow on ITV4 when fixtures clash. The streaming apps are BBC iPlayer and ITVX, and both carry every match from their respective broadcaster live and on demand.
When is England's first World Cup match?
England play Croatia on 17 June 2026 in their Group L opener, live on ITV1. Kickoff is at 8pm UK time, with build-up on the channel from 7pm.
When does Scotland play?
Scotland's three group fixtures are: against Haiti on 14 June (BBC), Morocco on 19 June (ITV1 and STV), and Brazil on 24 June (BBC). It is Scotland's first World Cup appearance since France 1998.
Can I watch the World Cup in 4K?
The BBC has confirmed selected fixtures will be available in UHD on BBC iPlayer for compatible smart TVs, including the final and several knockout matches. ITV's tournament coverage is HD only across all its platforms.
How do I watch on my phone?
Download BBC iPlayer and ITVX from the App Store or Google Play, sign in (or register for free if you do not have an account), and every match streams live and on demand. Both apps work on iOS, Android, smart TVs, games consoles and standard web browsers.
Where are the World Cup 2026 matches being played?
Across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament uses 16 venues across the three host countries, the largest geographical footprint in World Cup history. Many UK kickoffs are in the evening or late evening due to the time-zone difference: the standard early kickoff is 5pm UK time, the marquee slot is 8pm, and the late-night slot runs from 11pm to past midnight.
How does the new 48-team format work?
Forty-eight teams compete in 12 groups of four. The top two from each group advance automatically, joined by the eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups. That gives 32 teams in a new round of 32, which feeds the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. The expansion adds 24 matches and one extra knockout round to the 32-team format used at every previous World Cup since 1998.
Are matches available on demand after broadcast?
Yes. Both BBC iPlayer and ITVX carry full match replays, condensed 90-minute highlights, and individual goal clips for the duration of the tournament and beyond. Match of the Day on iPlayer covers each matchday's pick of the action.
Will Scotland and England play each other?
Not in the group stage; they are in different groups (Scotland in Group C, England in Group L). They could only meet from the round of 32 onwards, and only if both qualify and end up on the same side of the bracket.
What time does the final kick off?
The final on 19 July 2026 kicks off at 8pm UK time at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey. Both BBC and ITV carry the match live.