Soccer

Ireland’s potential World Cup kickoff times are a nightmare for fans

It is not much better for supporters planning to go as getting to games is a convoluted and expensive challenge

Canadian Draw assistant Wayne Gretzky shows the card reading Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic and Ireland. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty
Canadian Draw assistant Wayne Gretzky shows the card reading Denmark, North Macedonia, Czech Republic and Ireland. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty
Mary Hannigan's picture
Mary Hannigan
Sun Dec 07 2025 - 14:50

Those who claimed that Donald Trump being awarded the Nobel Fifa Peace Prize was akin to Crufts choosing this year’s finest literature were, of course, being rude. Especially when this is a man who has managed to end wars that never actually started. And not many can lay claim to that.

But one war that will inevitably kick off, and may yet need his peace-restoring intervention, is the set of hostilities that will break out between Heimir Hallgrímsson’s jolly green army and the World Cup fixture-deciding folk after the result of their work eventually sinks in.

For those who intend travelling to the tournament next summer, getting from Ireland to Guadalajara to Atlanta to Mexico City for our group games will prove a rather convoluted and expensive challenge.

And once Ireland progress to the knockout stages – and this is where it gets less complicated – they’ll play a team from Group B, C, E, F, G H, or I, depending on where they finish in their group. Which means said green army will have to travel on to Massachusetts, California or Washington. Or stay in Mexico City. And then the round of 16 could take them to Philadelphia or Houston. Or send them back to Mexico City.

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If our credit unions stumped up loans for travel of that magnitude, their coffers would be laid bare.

For those who will watch it all from home, the news is calamitous – two of Ireland’s group games kick off at 2am and 3am our time.

Those times are also a complete bummer for bonanza-anticipating pubs that are, you’d imagine, unlikely to have their licensing hours extended to five-ish in the morning.

And as the late Tommie Gorman famously asked Roy Keane, “what about the children?”

eneral view inside the Azteca Stadium. Photograph: Manuel Velasquez/Getty
eneral view inside the Azteca Stadium. Photograph: Manuel Velasquez/Getty

Will young Johnny and Jemima be allowed stay/get up for the games, thus ensuring a hellish month of living with cranky, bleary-eyed kiddies? Or do you not tell them there is a World Cup on, thereby depriving them of witnessing Ireland compete in the greatest show on earth for the first time in 24 years, ie considerably longer than their entire lifetimes?

The Tartan Army are complaining too, but two of their games are in Boston and only one starts after midnight Scotland time, so they have considerably less to be moaning about. So, hush.

Granted, getting in to a tizzy over this is being a little on the previous side. It’s akin to buying a rig-out for a party to which you have not been invited. The clue is in the World Cup fixture list: Republic of Ireland or Denmark or North Macedonia or the Czech Republic v South Korea, South Africa and Mexico.

Yes, we still have to actually qualify. But you know what Roy said: fail to prepare, prepare to fail. So, prepare for sleep deprivation.
Group A Fixtures

June 11/12th: South Korea v Uefa Path D (Ireland/Denmark/North Macedonia/Czechia), Guadalajara, 9pm local time (3am Irish time)

June 18th: Uefa Path D (Ireland/Denmark/North Macedonia/Czechia) v South Africa, Atlanta, 12pm local time (5pm Irish time)

June 24/25th: Uefa Path D (Ireland/Denmark/North Macedonia/Czechia) v Mexico, Mexico City, 8pm local time (2am Irish time)