Live matches, livescores & events

The World Cup is one of the few moments where millions of fans are watching the same match at the same time. This chapter covers how to retrieve live match data, in-play events, and real-time scores for World Cup 2026 fixtures.

Getting live World Cup matches

There are three livescores endpoints depending on what your application needs.

GET Inplay Livescores returns all currently live fixtures:

https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/livescores/inplay
?api_token=YOUR_TOKEN

GET All Livescores returns fixtures from 15 minutes before kick-off until 15 minutes after the final whistle:

https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/livescores
?api_token=YOUR_TOKEN

GET Latest Updated Livescores returns only fixtures that have had changes in the last 10 seconds. This is the most efficient option for a polling loop (your app only processes what has actually changed):

https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/livescores/latest
?api_token=YOUR_TOKEN

All three endpoints return fixtures based on the leagues in your subscription. To filter to World Cup matches only, add the league filter (League ID: 732):

https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/livescores/inplay
?api_token=YOUR_TOKEN&filters=fixtureLeagues:732

Enriching livescores with includes

By default, livescores return a lean response. Use the include parameter to pull in everything you need in a single request. For a typical match centre view with scores, events, and teams:

https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/livescores/inplay
?api_token=YOUR_TOKEN&filters=fixtureLeagues:732
&include=scores;participants;statistics.type;events;lineups

Available includes on the livescores endpoints include scores, participants, events, lineups, state, periods, statistics, venue, and more. See the individual endpoint pages for the full list.

Retrieving in-play events

The events include returns the full match event timeline (goals, cards, substitutions, and more), directly in your fixture response. Each event has a type_id that maps to the Types entity. Use the GET All Types endpoint to look up the label for any type_id.

Getting data for a specific match

If you already know the fixture ID, for example, from the season schedule, you can pull everything for that match in one request using GET Fixture by ID:

https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/fixtures/19609149
?api_token=YOUR_TOKEN&include=events;scores;state;participants;lineups

This is the most efficient approach for a dedicated match page.

Note: For in-play fixtures, use the livescores endpoints rather than the fixtures endpoints. The fixtures endpoints are better suited for pre-match and historical data.

Lineups for World Cup fixtures

The lineups include returns the starting XI, substitutes, positions, and shirt numbers for both teams. Official lineups are typically confirmed around 60–75 minutes before kick-off, before that, the array will be empty for that fixture.

Live standings during the group stage

Group standings update in real time as World Cup matches are played. Use the live standings endpoint with the World Cup season ID:

https://api.sportmonks.com/v3/football/standings/live/leagues/732
?api_token=YOUR_TOKEN

This is the same standings data covered in the Displaying season standings section, but updates dynamically during matches.

Handling the is_placeholder property

As covered in the season schedule section, knockout round fixtures will have placeholder: true until the qualifying teams are confirmed. The same applies at the participant level. Filter out placeholder teams before rendering names or crests:

const liveMatches = response.data.filter(fixture => !fixture.placeholder);

What to build next

With live match data, events, and lineups in place, you can extend your World Cup application further:

• Match statistics — use the statistics include or the Statistics endpoints for possession, shots, passes, and more

• Live standings — see the live standings endpoint above

• Odds and predictions — available via add-on; see Odds and Predictions