All the key dates for South Africa at the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is finally here. After the long qualifying campaign, warm-up games, and months of speculation about who’ll be named in South Africa’s squad, it’s time for the talk to end and matches to begin.

This year’s World Cup promises to be the biggest ever. There are 48 teams competing for the first time, with twelve groups and an extra knockout game to navigate. Finishing third in a group can also be good enough to progress for the first time, something that could well aid Bafana Bafana.

The tournament is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with matches taking place across North America. All told, there will be 104 games held over 39 glorious days of football.

These are the key dates for South Africa at the 2026 World Cup as Bafana Bafana take on their first tournament since hosting the 2010 edition.

Group stage escape possible

South Africa once again has the honor of playing in the World Cup’s first game. In a rematch of the 2010s' famous opening fixture, Bafana Bafana are facing Mexico. The game is being played on 11th June at 9pm at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, and South African fans will be hoping for a repeat of 2010, where the side earned a point.

This first game will be eagerly awaited by fans and punters across South Africa alike, with Goal.com offering a Lucky Fish promo code to use across the feast of football coming up.

Bafana Bafana’s next fixture is on 18th June against the Czech Republic, with this match being held in Atlanta. South Africa and Czechia are expected to be fighting for the all-important third place finish, making this potentially the most important game of the group stage.

South Africa will head back to Mexico to close out their group stage campaign, playing South Korea on 25th June. Fans will have to put up with a late night, though, with kick-off not until 3am.

The eight best third-placed teams will move through to the knockout stage alongside the usual top-two finishers of each group, giving Bafana Bafana every chance of moving out of the group stage for the first time.

Potential knockout routes for Bafana Bafana

It’s unlikely that South Africa will win Group A, with South Korea and Mexico the most likely candidates. Still, if Bafana Bafana can pull off some surprises, then their Round of 32 match will be another late kickoff in Mexico. The Group A winner will face a third-placed team at 3am on 1st July.

A second-placed finish would see South Africa play its Round of 32 game at 9pm on Sunday, 28th June, this time in Los Angeles. Here, they’d face the runners-up of Group B, which features Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, and Bosnia.

The most likely route to the knockout phase for South Africa is if they are among the eight best third-placed finishers. If Bafana Bafana can pull this off, they’ll face the winners of either Group E or Group G. The exact opponent will become clearer once the group stage ends.

Should South Africa be placed against the winner of Group E, they’ll likely face Germany on Monday 29th June in Boston. Should they be ranked against the Group G winner, they’ll probably be faced with a match against Belgium. This would be another late kickoff for fans at home, with the game starting at 4am on Thursday, 2nd July.