Despite the odd timing, all football fans were going to raise the roof

The FIFA World Cup is jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, whose time zones are worlds apart from India. | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO

Loyal fans of the European football giants England and France are in for a month of sleepless nights, whose fate is partially shared by the followers of the Latin American powerhouse Brazil. It’s even tougher for Seleção fans that supporters of their arch-rivals, defending champions Argentina, hardly lose any sleep.

Ahead of the much-anticipated 48-team FIFA World Cup kicking off at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Thursday (June 11, 2026) at midnight, the hot topic of discussion on social media was which team’s fans would be forced to watch their matches with bloodshot eyes thanks to the odd timing. The marquee event is co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, with worlds in the time zone except for India.

England fans are the worst affected, their first two matches are scheduled for 1:30 and the third even later at 2:30. French fans are a bit better off, with the first and third matches at 0:30 and the second at 2:30, while Argentina fans, on the other hand, have a relatively brisk schedule with matches at 6:30 and 7:30, 1:30, 1:30.

Fans of another favourite, Portugal, also enjoy relatively convenient timings, with two matches at 10.30pm and one at 5am. However, Brazilian fans will have to rely on alarms to wake up for two matches at 3.30am, while the third is at a more tolerable 6.00am. Spain must stay awake. at 9.30pm and one at 5.30am

Aside from the odd timing, social media is abuzz with the usual World Cup banter and fandom. One fan has published a humorous open letter to his idol Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portugal team, urging them to lift the trophy as a reward for the loyalty of supporters who allegedly built the cutouts using trees cut from other people’s properties and money earmarked for electricity bills, school fees and groceries. “A hat-trick in the semi-final and final, the Ballon d’Or and the Golden Boot, and of course the World Cup,” was a simple request for his idol.

A Facebook film captured an animated discussion about the World Cup between two elderly fans, one of whom was rooting for his favorite team Italy to lift the trophy this time, not realizing that Italy had not even qualified. “When was the last time you watched football?” the other scoffed before walking away from the debate.

On Thursday morning, soccer fans were in for a rude shock when the streaming platform carrying the World Cup limited access to a single device instead of the three originally promised as part of its subscription plan. “They restored it later, probably due to huge public backlash. I was planning to approach the consumer court if access to more devices is not restored,” said KV Avinash, a fan.

Published – 11 Jun 2026 22:46 IST