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Picture the scene: it’s the middle of June, the World Cup is well underway and you’ve not only missed a number of games that took place in the middle of the night, but you’ve been so busy that you feel like you’re missing all the big stories too.

Amazing goals, moments of drama and players you’ve never heard of, all missed because silly things like your biological need for sleep have gotten in the way of consuming every moment of the tournament.

That’s where Metro comes in, with our daily In The Mixer World Cup newsletter.

Every day during the World Cup, we’ll send you a quick, five-minute read with updates from overnight, the latest you need to know about the England squad and big previews of the games worth staying up that little bit later for.

Our team of experts, led by Head of Sport James Goldman, will provide you with analysis of the biggest talking points and results at what is already a historic tournament.

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When does the World Cup start?

The 2026 World Cup kicks off in Mexico City on June 11, when hosts Mexico face South Africa in the opening game of the tournament live on ITV.

It’s followed by South Korea v Czechia at 3am, while hosts Canada will get their tournament started on BBC at 8pm on June 12.

Luckily for Three Lions fans, England’s group stage fixtures against Croatia (9pm), Ghana (9pm) and Panama (10pm) have been given relatively kind kick-off times, but several games likely to be of particular interest to UK audiences have been handed less favourable slots.

Scotland’s first taste of World Cup football since 1998 is one such fixture, with Steve Clarke’s men taking on Haiti in their opening game at 2am on Sunday morning.

South American heavyweights Brazil and Argentina also have matches scheduled for the early hours of the morning, whilst Spain’s intriguing clash with Uruguay is billed to start at 1am.

Can England win the World Cup?

The backlash against Thomas Tuchel following his omission of stars like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander-Arnold doesn’t exactly bode well, while Harry Maguire’s emotional reaction suggests his decisions didn’t go down well amongst players either.

However, England still have one of the best squads at the tournament, with multiple Premier League and Champions League winners in the starting lineup.

Our In The Mixer experts shared their predictions for who will be crowned champions – fair warning, none of them backed England to go all the way…

James Goldman: ‘There are question marks hanging over all of the favourites and it’s hard to make a case for their being one outstanding team. Portugal have some glaring deficiencies before you even begin to contemplate how they’ll manage Cristiano Ronaldo’s ego through his final international tournament. That midfield, however, is special both in terms of talent and depth. Given the pace at which a lot of games are likely to be played out as a result of the conditions, the ability to control matches is likely to be key and Portugal should have that quality in abundance.’

Gavin Brown: ‘France will go one step further than four years ago. Not very imaginative, but I can’t look past a mesmeric forward line of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Michael Olise and, injury and holiday plans permitting, Kylian Mbappe. Oh and Rayan Cherki is waiting in reserve. That much talent should be illegal. The midfield looks a little uninspiring but with those attacking riches and a defence marshalled by William Saliba, Didier Deschamps’ men are the ones to beat.’

Dylan Mangan: ‘I find it hard to look past Spain. The reigning European champions will be one of the most cohesive sides at the tournament and have quality and energy all over the pitch. They’re the closest thing to a club side you can get at international level and should be all the better for it. There are some concerns – their style of play may suffer in extreme heat and Lamine Yamal’s fitness is key – but I’m backing La Roja to bring football a casa.’

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