As North America finds itself on high alert due to World Cup fever, the different time zones of each national team are ruining the sleep schedules of many soccer fans, but who will have to endure the most trouble to cheer on their local heroes?
The time difference among football supporters living in North Africa, compared to other far-flung countries around the world, has been the cause of many sleepless nights, leading to lingering frustrations during one of the sport’s most exciting tournaments. There has been great excitement among football fans, who have chosen to sacrifice their sleep for every game this summer, to watch the biggest World Cup ever, in real time. To put this in perspective, statisticians LiveScore.com analyzed the 48 teams confirmed for World Cup group-stage fixtures, and calculated which fans might suffer the greatest sleep deprivation.
Which World Cup fans lost the most sleep during the group stage?
To determine lost sleep opportunity, LiveScore.com looked at the sleep window of 11 pm to 7 pm for each qualifying country and then removed 2 hours and 45 minutes from that window wherever game interference occurred. The 2 hours and 45 minutes were specifically chosen, as it includes 15 minutes before kick-off, a two-hour match slot and then 30 minutes for post-match interviews and commentary. In countries that have multiple time zones, the average of their main civil time zone was used. Of course, “lost sleep opportunity” means potential disruption rather than confirmed sleep, but it provides a picture of what is happening when standardized in each country.
In terms of most disrupted sleep in the World Cup 2026 group stage, Algeria was on top with 8.25 hours lost, followed by Tunisia with 7.75 hours, and Iraq second with 7 hours of sleep time lost. Here are the full results:
| Post | Team | Group | sleep disturbance | lost opportunity for complete sleep |
| 1 | Algeria | J | 3 | 8.25 hours |
| 2 | tunisia | F | 2 | 7.75 hours |
| 3 | Iraq | I | 2 | 7.00 hours |
| 4 | norway | I | 2 | 6.00 hours |
| 5 | Czechia | A | 2 | 5.50 hours |
| 6 | sweden | F | 2 | 5.50 hours |
| 7 | DR Congo | Of | 2 | 5.50 hours |
| 8 | saudi arabia | h | 2 | 5.50 hours |
Supported Algerian football by being deprived of the most close attention as all three of their group matches took place during the night in local time, meaning fans would have to set alarms to wake up to watch the Fenix.
Seven other nations, including Scotland, Norway, Sweden, DR Congo and Saudi Arabia, lost two nights of sleep ahead of the knockout stage, while an additional 14 teams lost a night of sleep. But being close to North America alone isn’t beneficial for international fans. Being further away also helps, and Australia, New Zealand and South Korea all enjoyed significantly easier kick-off times.
Will the knockout stage matches create even greater sleep deprivation?
The total loss of sleep opportunity for football fans rooting for their home team will depend on how far they make it to the knockout stages, but with Algeria qualifying for the last 32, the team is set to take on Switzerland at 8pm on Friday, July 3. Vancouver time. That game features an eye-opening 4 a.m. kickoff time for Algeria.
Tunisian fans will have no need to set off alarms, as their team was eliminated in the group stage, as was the case with Iraq. But for Algeria and many of the remaining teams facing challenging start times, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is a test of patience for fans as well as players. Then there’s the separate issue of staying awake to question your teams’ tactics, but that’s a different story altogether.
