New Zealand 2026 Schedule & Game Calendar

New Zealand step into Group G at the 2026 World Cup

New Zealand come to the first 48-team World Cup as Oceania’s lone representative, the OFC side in Group G, with no world title behind them and a group that demands everything they have. The draw set New Zealand against Belgium, Egypt, and Iran, each from a separate confederation. New Zealand’s three matches run from June 15 to June 26 and split between Los Angeles and Vancouver, taking the team from the United States across the border into Canada.

The opener showed New Zealand belong. A 2-2 draw with Iran at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15 was an open, end-to-end night that left both teams on a point and Group G wide open. From there the schedule brings New Zealand to Vancouver for the next two games, Egypt on June 21 and Belgium on June 26, both at BC Place. Three games, three kickoffs on the Eastern clock, two host cities.

What New Zealand need from the group is simple to state, harder to deliver. Two of the four teams in every group go straight to the knockout rounds, and the eight best third-placed sides across the 12 groups also reach the Round of 32. A point against Iran was a useful start, and it means the two Vancouver matches will decide whether New Zealand push for a top-two finish or chase one of those third-place spots. Either way, the All Whites left the opener still in the fight.

Walking through New Zealand’s group games

New Zealand’s World Cup began on Monday, June 15 at 9:00 PM ET against Iran at Los Angeles Stadium. The 2-2 result means New Zealand took a point from a game that had goals at both ends. Not the win, but a competitive draw against an AFC side and a reminder that this group has no easy nights for anyone.

The second match is the first of two in Vancouver, against Egypt on Sunday, June 21 at BC Place, a 9:00 PM ET kickoff with New Zealand as the home team. This is the sort of fixture that can swing a group, two sides closely matched on paper, and New Zealand will fancy their chances with home advantage. The 48-team field has already shown that results are there for teams who take them, so this is a real opportunity rather than a long shot.

Group G closes at BC Place on Friday, June 26 against Belgium, a late 11:00 PM ET start and New Zealand’s second straight home game in Vancouver. Belgium are the group’s UEFA heavyweight, but by kickoff the standings may leave New Zealand with something concrete to play for. June 26 is the date to mark, because where New Zealand finish decides which half of the knockout bracket they would enter.

Base camp in Vancouver and the kickoff windows for New Zealand

New Zealand’s routing settles quickly after the opener. The first game against Iran is at Los Angeles Stadium in the United States, but the next two are both at BC Place in Vancouver, against Egypt and then Belgium, which gives New Zealand a single base across the back half of the group. Both Vancouver games carry the home label on the team sheet, so New Zealand are the designated hosts for the Egypt and Belgium fixtures, with the Iran opener the only one where they are listed as the visitors. None of that changes the host country, since every Group G nation is a guest in the United States and Canada, but it does set the bench and home support for two of the three games.

The kickoff times are friendlier for one audience than most. The Iran and Egypt games both start at 9:00 PM ET, and the Belgium finale goes off at 11:00 PM ET, all evening-into-night slots on the eastern clock. Those windows sit in the afternoon and evening back in New Zealand once the time difference is applied, which is unusual for an Oceania side at a tournament hosted in North America. A synced calendar still does the conversion for you, so wherever you follow the All Whites from, each kickoff lands in your own local time without any guesswork.

If Group G comes down to teams level on points, the order of separation is points, then goal difference, then goals scored. That makes the margin in each New Zealand result matter, not just the win, draw, or loss. The 2-2 opener against Iran left goal difference even and put a point on the board, so a clear win in either Vancouver game would lift New Zealand up the table and strengthen the tiebreakers at the same time. Two teams from the group advance automatically, and the eight best third-placed sides across the 12 groups take the remaining Round of 32 places, which keeps a route open for New Zealand even if they finish third.

How the 48-team knockout rounds work for New Zealand

Get out of Group G and the new bracket takes over. The 2026 World Cup stretches to 104 matches and adds a Round of 32 the old 32-team format never had. Group winners and runners-up join the eight best third-placed teams, and from there it is straight knockout football: Round of 32, Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final on July 19.

Who New Zealand would meet in that Round of 32 is not set yet, and it cannot be until all 12 groups have played their final round. The bracket fills from the top as group placings lock in, so New Zealand’s first knockout opponent only becomes clear in the last days of the group stage. You can follow every group and watch the bracket take shape on the 2026 World Cup overview.

For New Zealand, reaching the knockouts at all would be a marker of how far this campaign has come, and the expanded format gives more teams a route through than any World Cup before it. That is the context behind every group result. The points New Zealand gather in Los Angeles and Vancouver are seeding for the games that decide who keeps going in the tournament.

Saving and syncing New Zealand’s fixtures

Every New Zealand fixture on this page can drop straight onto your calendar. Use the download button on the schedule above to grab the full set as an ICS file, a CSV spreadsheet, or a printable PDF, and choose the entire campaign or a single match if that is all you need.

The ICS file is the option most people use. Bring it into Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook and New Zealand’s group games appear with the kickoff times already converted to your local zone, along with the venue and host city. Because the feed runs on live tournament data, it stays accurate by itself: if a kickoff time moves, or once New Zealand’s knockout opponents are confirmed, those entries adjust with nothing required from you.

Following more than New Zealand? The same downloads sit on the page for every nation at the 2026 World Cup, so you can line New Zealand’s fixtures up next to another team and read the whole tournament off one calendar. Pin the Group G dates first, June 15, June 21, and June 26, then let the knockout matches drop in as the bracket fills.