LaLiga

LaLiga releases opening‑week schedule with four World Cup‑delayed matches

The Spanish league has announced kickoff times for the competition’s first two matchdays. The new season begins on Saturday, August 15.

OSCAR DEL POZO

Ruby Arés Andy Hall

Update: Jul 14th, 2026 08:08 EDT

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LaLiga has officially dropped the kickoff times for the 2026–27 season, and the league will open under unusual circumstances.

With half of Spain still on vacation and cooling off at the beach, the ball is set to roll again — but only one month after the World Cup semifinals, forcing four matches to be pushed back.

The lone opener that stays untouched: Alavés vs. Getafe, which will launch the season on Saturday, August 15 at 1:30 p.m. ET (7:30 hours local time).

A two‑phase start to the season

As agreed by the clubs, LaLiga EA Sports will begin in two waves. The first includes teams not affected by the World Cup semifinals, except Celta — which has Borja Iglesias in the tournament — but still chose not to move its match against Osasuna (Sunday, August 16 at 3:30p.m. ET) to avoid calendar congestion.

Opening day looks like this:

Alavés vs. Getafe — Saturday, Aug. 15, 1:30 p.m. ET
Sevilla vs. Rayo — Saturday, Aug. 15, 3:30 p.m. ET

HORARIOS | Consulta cuándo se jugarán los encuentros de la primera jornada de #LALIGAEASPORTS.

👉 https://t.co/PHLyRFV4dm pic.twitter.com/G0IU1mh6Dj
— LALIGA (@LaLiga) July 14, 2026

Four postponed matches — also split into two phases

The rescheduled games will unfold in two steps:

Atlético Madrid vs. Málaga — Friday, July 19 at 3:00 PM ET

Atlético specifically requested this date. Concert setup and teardown at their stadium made the following weekend complicated, but the club preferred an earlier debut for sporting reasons.

Other teams will face an odd scenario: they’ll play Matchday 2 before Matchday 1, with the postponed fixtures squeezed in midweek before Matchday 3.

Here’s the midweek recovery slate:

Valencia vs. Betis — Tuesday, July 25 at 3:00 PM ET
Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad — Wednesday, July 26 at 3:00 PM ET
Barcelona vs. Athletic Club — Thursday, July 27 at 3:00 PM ET

Matchday 2 begins without delays

Rayo vs. Alavés — Thursday, July 20, marking the first round with no World Cup‑related postponements.

HORARIOS | Estos son los partidos que se jugarán durante la jornada 2 de #LALIGAEASPORTS.

👉 https://t.co/J2VEvWO36V pic.twitter.com/sU8SNAeTDN
— LALIGA (@LaLiga) July 14, 2026

Matchday 3 closes out August

Real Madrid vs. Málaga — Sunday, August 30 at the Bernabéu
Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano — also that weekend at Camp Nou