Round 1 (aka Matchday/Gameweek 1) of Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 starts today!
The advertised deadline is at 20:00 BST, which is kick-off in the Mexico v South Africa game.
As per the rules in UEFA Champions League (UCL) Fantasy, this should allow Fantasy managers the chance to see the teamsheets in the Group A curtain-raiser before finalising their teams.
However…
FIFA DEADLINES: A CAUTIONARY TALE
Anyone who played FIFA World Club Cup Fantasy last summer may view the advertised deadline with a degree of suspicion.
The deadline for the opening Round of that game was scheduled for 00:00 BST on June 15.
However, managers were then locked out at 23:00 BST on June 14, an hour earlier than advertised!
The issue was then rectified from Round/Matchday 2 onwards.
It could be that FIFA, who have steadily improved its Fantasy offerings after past shambles, have remedied the Club World Cup bug for this summer.
And one user, the resourceful FPL Joe, seems to bring positive news:
Lots of concerns about the World Cup Fantasy deadline, after past FIFA games closed hours earlier than the stated deadline ⏳
Here's what I found on the site for MD1:
🔒 startDate: 8PM BST (UTC+1), same as first fixture kickoff
🏁 endDate: 5AM BST (UTC+1), 2h after last fixture pic.twitter.com/CAgEH0lJI6— FPL Joe (@FPLJoeYT) June 9, 2026
Nevertheless, it’s probably worth getting those Fantasy World Cup squads ready for 19:00 BST, just in case of a repeat performance from 2025.
