If you are searching for where to watch the World Cup in Ho Chi Minh City, the answer is straightforward. Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar, located at 20 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, District 1, is the only address you need this summer. Four screens downstairs, a large projector upstairs, cold Tiger draught on tap, and a room full of people who genuinely care about the result – this is what watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Saigon is supposed to feel like.
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026, across the United States, Canada and Mexico – the largest FIFA World Cup in history. With 104 matches, 48 nations and a format built to deliver drama from the very first kick, there has never been a better time to have a proper base on Huynh Thuc Khang Street.
What Time Does the World Cup Kick Off in Vietnam?
This is the question every expat and football fan in Saigon is asking – and the time zone maths is straightforward once you know it.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is hosted across North America, with all official kick-off times published by FIFA in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4). Ho Chi Minh City runs on Indochina Time (ICT, UTC+7), putting Vietnam exactly 11 hours ahead of the US East Coast throughout the tournament.
Here is what the main kick-off slots look like converted to HCMC time:
| US Eastern Time (EDT) | Ho Chi Minh City (ICT) |
|---|---|
| 12:00 PM ET | 11:00 PM (same night) |
| 3:00 PM ET | 2:00 AM |
| 6:00 PM ET | 5:00 AM |
| 9:00 PM ET | 8:00 AM |
| 10:00 PM ET | 9:00 AM |
| Midnight ET | 11:00 AM |
The headline for Vietnam football fans: the most prestigious group stage fixtures – England, France, Japan – land in the 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM window in Saigon. That is not inconvenient. That is bar time.
Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar will be showing all 2:00 AM kick-offs throughout the tournament, with selected 5:00 AM games also covered. Follow us on Facebook for confirmed screening schedules as the tournament progresses, along with special game night promotions announced closer to each fixture.
The Best Bar to Watch the World Cup in Saigon
There is no shortage of bars in District 1, kings. But finding one that gets World Cup 2026 viewing right – proper screens, proper atmosphere, service that actually keeps up when the match hits extra time – that is a shorter list.
Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar on Huynh Thuc Khang Street has been rated 4.8 stars across 651 Google reviews, and every one of them is genuine. The bar runs across two floors, with a full bar and sofa lounge on the ground floor, and a second upstairs floor with pool tables, shuffleboard, and a large projector screen. Two full bars across the venue means nobody is watching a goal celebration from the back of a queue.
This is a bar that was built for big nights. The World Cup is the biggest night there is.
Four Screens and a Projector – Kim’s Tavern World Cup Setup
Downstairs – Four Screens, Free Entry
The ground floor runs four screens showing live matches throughout the tournament. No booking required, no minimum spend on entry – walk in, find your spot, and order a cold Tiger draught from the bar while the teams are still in the tunnel.
The ground floor layout gives every seat a decent view. Whether you are at the bar itself, in the lounge section, or at a table near the door, you will not be craning your neck to see a penalty shootout. The girls will be watching just as closely as you are, which – if nothing else – makes the missed shots slightly easier to handle.
The Upstairs Projector – Cinema-Scale Football
[Image: Kim’s Tavern upstairs projector screen with crowd watching a live match]
For the games that actually matter, the upstairs projector is where you want to be. A large projector screen dominates the upper floor – the kind of screen where you can read the keeper’s expression from the back of the room. The upstairs space doubles as the bar’s pool table and shuffleboard floor, which means there is plenty of room to move, plenty of tables to settle at, and the kind of relaxed, social atmosphere that makes a 2:00 AM kick-off feel less like a sleep sacrifice and more like a very good decision.
No minimum spend, no reservation required – walk up, grab a table, and watch the match the way it was meant to be watched.
On a big game night – England vs Croatia, France vs Senegal, Japan vs Netherlands – this floor fills up. Come early.
Keep an eye out for special game night promotions throughout the six weeks. Surprise offers tied to specific results and goals will be announced on the night – the kind of thing you only catch if you are in the room when it happens.
World Cup 2026 Kick-Off Times in Ho Chi Minh City – Opening Fixtures Guide
This is the section to bookmark. Below are the confirmed opening group stage fixtures for the major expat nations represented in Ho Chi Minh City, with all kick-off times converted to HCMC local time (ICT, UTC+7). All fixture details are drawn from the official FIFA World Cup 2026 schedule.
England – Group L
Tuesday, June 17 – 3:00 PM ET Wednesday, June 18 – 2:00 AM HCMC England vs Croatia – AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
England and Croatia have history that goes well beyond a group stage fixture. The last time these sides met at a World Cup was the 2018 semi-final in Moscow – and England, 1-0 up at half time under Gareth Southgate, watched Croatia score twice in extra time to end a nation’s hopes in one of the most gut-wrenching moments in modern tournament football. Mario Mandzukic’s winner in the 109th minute still haunts an entire generation of English fans. Now Thomas Tuchel’s side get their first chance at the same opponents, on the biggest stage, with 28 years of hurt still available as fuel.
Group L also contains Ghana and Panama. England enter as serious contenders for the title.
The 2:00 AM HCMC kick-off makes this a natural Kim’s Tavern fixture from the opening whistle. English expats in Saigon – and there are plenty of them – will want their spot on the upstairs projector floor locked in well ahead of June 18.
France – Group I
Tuesday, June 16 – 3:00 PM ET Wednesday, June 17 – 2:00 AM HCMC France vs Senegal – MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey
France arrive at this tournament ranked number one in the world and carrying the weight of recent history on both sides of this fixture. In the very first game of the 2002 World Cup, Senegal faced the reigning French champions – and won 1-0 in one of the most celebrated upsets the tournament has ever produced. Papa Bouba Diop’s goal in Séoul sent shockwaves around the planet and ended France’s group stage campaign before it had truly started.
Now they meet again. France come in as favourites with Kylian Mbappe and a squad of genuine depth. Senegal arrive as Africa’s most dangerous side, with the 2002 memory ready to be invoked the moment they step onto the pitch. For neutral football lovers, this is the opening fixture of the tournament.
At 2:00 AM in Saigon, the upstairs projector at Kim’s Tavern is the only sensible place to watch it.
Japan – Group F
Sunday, June 14 – 4:00 PM ET Monday, June 15 – 3:00 AM HCMC Netherlands vs Japan – AT&T Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Japan’s expat community in Ho Chi Minh City is one of the largest in the city, and the Samurai Blue have done nothing but give their supporters reason to believe in recent tournaments. At Qatar 2022 they produced two of the results of the group stage – a 2-1 comeback win over Germany and a 2-1 win against Spain – before exiting in a penalty shootout against Croatia in the last 16. A quarter-final agonisingly close, a squad that had proved it belonged at the top table.
In 2026 they open against the Netherlands, a side that knocked them out on penalties four years ago. There is unfinished business here. The 3:00 AM kick-off in HCMC makes this one of the prime Kim’s Tavern viewing fixtures of the entire tournament.
Scotland – Group C
Friday, June 13 – 9:00 PM ET Saturday, June 14 – 8:00 AM HCMC Haiti vs Scotland – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Boston
Scotland are back at the World Cup for the first time since France 1998 – a 28-year absence that ended in the most dramatic fashion possible, with two stoppage-time goals against Denmark in their final qualifier. The Tartan Army has been waiting for this since before some of the players in Steve Clarke’s squad were born.
They open against Haiti – on paper their most winnable fixture before facing Morocco and Brazil – and the 8:00 AM HCMC kick-off makes this a morning beer occasion. Kim’s Tavern takes no judgement call on what time a man decides he needs a cold drink and a large screen. Eight in the morning with the Scots playing their first World Cup game in 28 years qualifies. The bar will be ready.
Australia – Group D
Saturday, June 13 – Midnight ET Sunday, June 14 – 11:00 AM HCMC Australia vs Turkey – BC Place, Vancouver
The Socceroos are in one of the tougher groups in the draw alongside the USA, Paraguay and Turkey, and they open at 11:00 AM HCMC time – the most civilised slot of the lot. Australia’s Qatar 2022 campaign – reaching the round of 16 for only the second time in their history, defeating Denmark and taking Argentina to a tense last-16 – rebuilt genuine belief in this squad. They come into 2026 with that momentum, and their Australian expat supporters in Saigon will be watching from the comfort of a lunch-hour beer in a bar that knows how to treat them.
USA – Group D
Friday, June 12 – 9:00 PM ET Saturday, June 13 – 8:00 AM HCMC USA vs Paraguay – SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
The host nation opens the tournament on home soil at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. For American expats in Ho Chi Minh City, the 8:00 AM HCMC kick-off is a breakfast beer with national pride on the side. As one of the three co-hosts, the USA carry the weight of expectation and a fanbase that covers every corner of the expat world in District 1.
They share Group D with Australia, which means there is a reasonable chance of two vocal expat fanbases occupying the same bar on the same matchday – which, at Kim’s Tavern, is not a problem. There is room for everyone on Huynh Thuc Khang Street.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup – Everything You Need to Know
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first in history to feature 48 nations – expanded from the 32-team format used at every tournament since 1998. Three countries share hosting duties: the United States (11 cities), Mexico (3 cities) and Canada (2 cities), making this the first World Cup ever co-hosted across three nations simultaneously.
104 matches will be played across 37 days, from the opening game on June 11 in Mexico City through to the final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19, 2026. The group stage runs 12 groups of four teams, with the top two from each group advancing alongside the eight best third-placed sides to a new Round of 32 – giving more nations a genuine path to the knockout stages than at any previous tournament.
For viewers in Vietnam, the time zone gap with North America creates some genuinely late-night and early-morning viewing. But as any expat who has been in Saigon for more than one major tournament already knows, there is something about watching football at 2:00 AM in a bar that is still full of people who care deeply about the result – something you do not get sitting at home with a phone in your hand.
The final kicks off at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on July 19, which translates to 2:00 AM HCMC time on July 20. Kim’s Tavern will be showing it. The projector will be on. The bar will be full.
Find Kim’s Tavern on Huynh Thuc Khang Street, District 1
Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar sits at 20 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City – right in the heart of Saigon’s most established expat strip, within easy reach of every major hotel and guesthouse in District 1 by Grab.
Walk-ins are welcome throughout the tournament. On the biggest game nights the upstairs projector floor fills up quickly, so arriving early for England, France and Japan kick-offs is strongly recommended.
Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar 20 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City Rated 4.8 stars – 651 Google reviews Find us on Google Maps
Visit kimsbarsaigon.com or follow us Facebook on for the latest on game nights, special promotions, and everything else happening at the bar throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Lots of love from all the girls at Kim’s Tavern Super Girl Bar xoxo
