FIFA World

Cup 2026

A record spread of World Cup kick-off times, Brazil’s left-footed army, and has Haaland broken offsides?

The 2026 World Cup has seen a bigger spread of kick-off times than any other edition Stu Forster/Getty Images

We’re 46 percent of the way through the 2026 World Cup, so it’s high time we had another rummage through The Athletic’s curiosity cupboard. So read on if you want to find out more about…

• Why timezone and kick-off fans are having the time of their lives at the 2026 World Cup
• Why 27-year-olds are the real goal threat this summer
• How Brazil are keeping soccer’s left-footed scene alive
• And whether Erling Haaland has really racked the offside code

A kick-off time for everybody (especially Lionel Messi)

Keeping pace with the twists, turns and drama of any World Cup is dizzying. But 2026 has been a particular logistical challenge for those intent on keeping tabs on all the action. Spread across four time zones, the tournament has already featured 11 different local kick-off times, more than any previous edition, and is set to rise to 13 before the tournament is over.

England’s 0-0 draw against Ghana was just the second game played at 4pm, despite this being, historically, the World Cup’s most popular kick-off time, with 139 matches played.

This is partly to avoid warmer parts of the day, with FIFA saying that the schedule was chosen to “optimize welfare conditions for players and supporters”. This welfare-first logic has come at the cost of the armchair fan, who pines for the heady days of Qatar 2022, when there were just five kick-off times to contend with, all played within a single time zone.

At least the fragmented schedule has helped Lionel Messi to yet another record, albeit not one likely to linger too long in the mind of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. His double against Austria came in a game kicking off at 12pm local time, while his hat-trick against Algeria came at 8pm, two slots in which he had never previously scored at a World Cup.

It means he has now scored across eight different kick-off times, a tournament record. The 39-year-old continues to defy time in every sense of the word.

Forget the 40-somethings, it’s 27-year-olds scoring the goals

Goals, bitter veteran international strikers might say, are wasted on the young. Before this tournament, players aged 18 or under had scored 14 World Cup goals, more than double the six managed by those 38 or over.

Now, thanks entirely to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the scales are tipping back towards the geriatrics. Messi, 39, has scored five and Ronaldo, 41, two, while only Ibrahim Mbaye and Lamine Yamal have chipped in for the teenagers, scoring one apiece. Messi is the only player to score at a World Cup as both a teenager and in his thirties, while Ronaldo has joined Cameroon legend Roger Milla as the only men to score in their forties.

While their age-defying exploits give hope to those of us bravely creaking on despite stiff backs and suspect hamstrings, the young and sprightly still dominate World Cup goalscoring. At the 2026 tournament, 27-year-olds lead the way, having scored 16 per cent of all goals.

Not that this has done much for Sweden, whose eight 27-year-olds did not prevent them from losing 5-1 against the Netherlands in their second group game.

Belgium, though, could have done with someone in that goalscoring age sweet spot, having looked toothless in attack with a squad shorn of any 27-year-olds.

Will Brazil leave Scotland behind?

Facing them today for the fifth time in their ninth World Cup campaign, Scotland are well aware of the dangers posed by Brazil. Familiarity has offered little comfort, with the Scots routinely picked apart by Brazil’s flair and freewheeling attacking style, losing three times and drawing once in those previous meetings.