Rainy weather casts cloud over World Cup kick-off in Germany

As die Mannschaft make their way across the pond, rainy weather is heading to much of Germany. The German Weather Service (DWD) has forecast rain and cool weather for June 11.

Cool weather forecast for World Cup kick-off

We were all looking forward to briefly turning our attention away from the global polycrisis towards the internationally unifying tradition of watching the beautiful game in the sunshine, but it looks like the weather won’t play ball. At least not in Germany.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will kick off with a match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca Stadium. The match starts at 1pm local time and 9pm CEST, when it will be broadcast on ZDF. 

Anyone hoping to watch the match at a public viewing area in northern Germany should take a raincoat. According to the DWD, sunshine and intermittent showers are forecast across most of northern Germany, including Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, Leipzig, Hanover and Bremen. Those in the south will see cloudy sunshine.

Weather should improve for Germany’s first match

Luckily, the weather is set to improve by June 14, when die Mannschaft hits the pitch against Curaçao for its first match of the tournament. The match will take place in Houston, US, and unfortunately, kicks off at 7pm local time and 2am CEST.

However, the match will be broadcast by ZDF on June 14 at 6pm CEST and shown at many public viewing areas, bars and restaurants. According to BBC Weather, the weather will have improved in parts of Germany by the evening of June 14.

While Berlin and Hamburg will see intermittent sunshine and rain, there will be 23 degrees celsius, intermittent sunshine and clouds in Stuttgart, 23 degrees and sunshine in Frankfurt and 25 degrees and sunshine in Munich.

According to Wetter.de, the weather will continue to warm up across Germany during the second half of June. The men’s team will hit the pitch again for a match against the Ivory Coast on June 20 and against Ecuador on June 26. Read our guide, How to watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Germany, for more information about how to tune in.