How late does USMNT play Turkiye in Group D finale at 2026 World Cup?

The United States Men's National Team has already punched its ticket to the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but it has one more match in Group D. 

The United States will face Turkiye at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Thursday. Those who want to watch the game on TV may have to stay up past their bedtime. 

When does the USMNT play Turkiye?

The match is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET on Fox/Telemundo/Fox One. The only other match in the same time slot on Thursday is Australia against Paraguay on FS1/Telemundo/Fox One. Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., will host the Group D fixture. 

Thursday's game marks the United States' latest match at the World Cup thus far. Its first match, a 4-1 win over Paraguay, was at 9 p.m. ET on June 12. Its following match, a 2-0 victory over Australia, was at 2 p.m. ET on June 19. Why is the upcoming clash so much later than the others? 

Explaining why the USMNT-Turkiye match is so late 

Thursday's slate of games marks the end of group play for Groups D-F. All group play concludes on Saturday. Note: each day features finales for three groups, resulting in sextuple-headers.   

FIFA is mandating simultaneous kickoffs for final group matches to prevent match-fixing. This precludes teams from knowing prior outcomes and then colluding based on them. 

The other issue is that there are too many teams and, thus, too many games to schedule. The 2026 World Cup (which ends on July 19) is the largest in the event's history, featuring 48 teams in 12 groups of four and 104 matches. Three countries (America, Canada and Mexico) serving as hosts further complicates scheduling. 

Luckily for American fans, Thursday's match is a mop-up game with the U.S. already in the next round. If supporters want to sleep rather than consume large amounts of caffeine to watch the entire 90-minute match, they should feel free to do so.