# Countdown Overview

FanHQ26's **Countdown** (/countdown) is a free tool that shows the time remaining until the 2026 World Cup opener and Final to the second, plus an at-a-glance countdown for every nation's first match. The page updates in real time once per second using a client-side interval.

## Tournament Anchors

The opener counts down to **Mexico vs South Africa** at Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, kicking off Thursday June 11, 2026. The Final counts down to **MetLife Stadium, New Jersey** on Sunday July 19, 2026. Both cards display days, hours, minutes, and seconds in a broadcast-styled scoreboard layout.

## Per-Team Countdowns

Below the marquee, every one of the **48 World Cup nations** has its own countdown card showing their first match — opponent, kickoff date, and time remaining. Tapping any team card routes to the team's own page (/teams/[slug]) with full fixtures and ticket guidance.

## Time Sources

Countdowns are computed client-side from the official FIFA-published kickoff times (sourced via Wikipedia and stored in the FanHQ26 matches library). The interval clears on unmount to avoid wasted CPU on background tabs. All times honour the browser's local timezone.

## Free Tool

Countdown is **free** and requires no signup. The tool is part of FanHQ26's free fan-tools rail at /tools.

## Notes

Countdown is **independent fan content** for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and is not affiliated with FIFA. Kickoff times may shift if FIFA reschedules — the counter is only as accurate as the published schedule.