World Cup fever has swept the United States this summer, but many soccer fans are set to miss Wednesday’s blockbuster semifinal between England and Argentina.
The game kicks off at 3pm ET (12pm PT), hours ahead of the primetime window, when many across the nation will be at work or school.
3
This summer’s tournament, hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico, has already generated record broadcast audiences for Fox Sports.
But having the two semifinals in afternoon slots, the first of which was won by Spain against France on Tuesday, risks derailing any hype for Sunday’s showpiece.
In fact, according to eSPORTY host Master Tesfatsion, this week’s scheduling has been an ‘abomination’ for fans in the host country.
“To have a semifinal with England vs Argentina and France vs Spain, you couldn’t have asked for a better scenario other than the fact that these matches are happening at 3pm Eastern Time on Tuesday and Wednesday for the host nations,” he said on The S* Word.
“That is an abomination, and you want to talk about how we continue to cater to Europeans and their time zones, and not being mindful of the fact that Canada, Mexico, and the United States has done a tremendous job hosting this World Cup.
“Most of them, unfortunately, will have to be at work watching this or taking time off because it is in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day.
“It’s just a ridiculous, ridiculous time slot.”
When co-host Will Gavin pointed out that the games will be played in primetime for a European time zone, and that the final will likely be watched by billions across the globe, Master suggested that overnight kick-offs had not been a problem for nations like England earlier in the tournament.
“It should have been at primetime (in the US),” he continued.
“If you guys have to get up at four in the morning and keep the bars open, (outgoing prime minister) Keir Starmer can get another applause on the way out the door.
3
“You guys look like you are having fun waiting until three in the morning to watch your matches.”
Why are World Cup semifinals played in the afternoon?
While American fans have been irked by scheduling for the closing games of the World Cup, including the final, which is set for 3pm on Sunday, July 19, there is good reason for the earlier kick-off times.
Manolo Zubiria, FIFA’s chief tournament officer for the USA, discussed the schedule when it was first set in December 2025.
He confirmed that years of work went into the calendar, to maximise a global audience for the latter stages of the competition.
“This has been the climax of a process that has been two years in the making to build a schedule for the largest-ever World Cup,” he said.
“The minute the last team was drawn… there was already a large group of multiple (functional) areas within FIFA to try to put together this puzzle.
3
Speaking specifically of the showpiece on July 19, which will be played in the summer heat at the outdoor MetLife Stadium, he added: “It’s the final of the World Cup — the more people you can bring to this game around the world (via television), the better.
“There will be measures to mitigate the heat.
“As you’ve seen, there are not that many other games in times that will raise questions.
“We managed to leverage it and to balance it out well.”
Stay up to date on all things World Cup across our eSPORTY platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.
