THE World Cup and nothing elseToday is a big day. Why? Because today marks the first day of June, and June is a great month for sports for one sole reason: the 2018 World Cup will kick off in just two weeks’ time in big, cold Russia.
From June 14 to July 15, the World Cup will take centerstage and people will talk about nothing but the beautiful game that will be played across 12 venues in 11 cities in the Russian Federation.
Where to watch the games here in Cebu won’t be a problem since many establishments will broadcast the matches, especially the early ones.
SkyCable subscribers can also get a “season pass” for the entire tournament. The telecom firm’s parent company, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., was granted exclusive Media Rights License to broadcast the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia via TV, radio, mobile, and internet. Livestreams, of course, are always an option. Still, it is much better to watch the games with a group or in a crowd of football enthusiasts. So, what better time than now to fix your viewing schedules with friends and family?
When it comes to the schedules, there’s good news and there’s bad. The good news is that some of the matches relatively have early kickoffs by World Cup “standards.” The bad but not really surprising news is that many of the crucial matches during the group stages will be held late at night, some in the wee hours.
The tournament’s first match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia in Moscow will be aired starting 11 p.m., Philippine time, on June 14, but much earlier matches have been slated for local broadcast, such as the encounter between Egypt and Uruguay at 8 p.m. the next day, June 15.
Those who wish to witness an epic clash between European titans Portugal vs. Spain, though, will have to forego sleep and wait until 2 a.m. the next morning, June 16. Portugal are the current European champions, while Spain won the World Cup in 2010, so, yes, don’t you dare miss that one.
June 16 will offer further a double treat to fans with two huge matches broadcast in regular waking hours: France vs. Australia at 6 p.m. followed by Argentina vs. Iceland at 9 p.m. France and Argentina are traditional football powerhouses, but Australia and Iceland can slay giants.
Other early matches that would be of great interest to Filipinos and our Asian neighbors are Korea vs. Sweden (8 p.m., June 18) and Japan vs. Colombia ((8 p.m., June 19).
Of course, there are the matches between fan favorites that would be worth every sleeping hour lost: Germany vs. Mexico (11 p.m., June 17), followed by Brazil vs. Switzerland (2 a.m., June 18), then England vs. Tunisia (2 a.m., June 19).
And that’s just in the first round of the group stage, including the other matches that were not mentioned but are no less exciting and intense. The remaining matches in the group stage follow a similar pattern. For the knockout stages each match day begins at 10 p.m. followed by a 2 a.m. game.
Then on July 15 at exactly 11 p.m. Philippine time, the referee will blow his whistle to kick off the Finals match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in front of more than 80,000 spectators at the Luzhniki Stadium in the Russian capital of Moscow.