World Cup 2026: Nigerians to keep vigil for many games, as fixtures reveal early morning matches

The 2026 FIFA World Cup finals starts on June 11 and the fixtures have revealed that football-loving Nigerians will have sleepless nights during the duration of the tournament.

The apex football competition will be hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States of America with 48 teams on parade.
It is the first time three countries will be hosting the Mundial just as it is the biggest in number of participating countries. At the last edition in Qatar, 32 countries took part.
The opening match between Mexico and South Africa is scheduled for 8pm Nigerian time but many other games are billed to take place in the early hours of the day local time.

Morocco will play their first match against Brazil at 11pm Nigerian time while USA vs Paraguay is billed for 2.am.
Australia will take on Turkey 5.am on June 14, Cote d Ivoire, Ecuador will kick off 12modnight on June 15 just as Sweden Tunisia is billed for 3am same day.
On June 17, Argentina, Algeria will clash at 2.am while Jordan and Austria will start their opening game 5.am Nigerian time.
Also on June 17, Portugal, DR Congo clash at 6pm just as England and Croatia will tango at 9pm local time.

The reason for this trimmings is not far fetched as the time difference between Nigeria and the three hosting cities ranges between six and nine hours depending on the host city of the respective games.