World Cup semifinal backlash as US fans fume and demand change to European-friendly schedule

Soccer fans across the United States have shared frustration over kick-off times for the four remaining World Cup games.

The two blockbuster semifinals, France vs Spain and England vs Argentina, take place on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon.

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Both games are scheduled to start at 3pm ET (12pm PT), meaning many fans will be at work as the action unfolds.

The World Cup final, on Sunday, July 19, kicks off at the same time in the afternoon, while the third place play-off will be at the slightly more manageable time of 5pm ET (2pm PT) on Saturday.

While the USMNT crashed out of the tournament in the last-16, interest remains high, and some fans are questioning why the biggest games will not air on primetime TV in the host country, despite record viewership this year.

American soccer fans fume at World Cup schedule

“I can’t stand Europeans because they swear the world revolves around them. When the World Cup is abroad, we never b****. We just wake up at 1am or 4am. It’s always been that way. The times benefit the host nation, but now it doesn’t. It’s bs,” one posted on X.

“I still don’t know why they are doing this, even 6pm ET is good for both Europe and US,” another wrote.

“It’s dumb from an American viewer perspective, but the correct one for the remaining countries,” a third suggested.

“The US is prioritizing the European viewers,” a fourth claimed.

A fifth concluded: “Welp. Missing both semifinal games this week. Great job FIFA with the scheduling!”

Why are World Cup games kicking off earlier this week?

FIFA’s schedule for the business end of the tournament is more friendly to a global, rather than domestic, audience.

The two semifinals might be played at AT&T Stadium in Dallas and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, but three of the four teams contesting them are European.

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Manolo Zubiria, FIFA’s chief tournament officer for the USA, broke down the scheduling formula when it was first set back in December 2025.

“This has been the climax of a process that has been two years in the making to build a schedule for the largest-ever World Cup,” he said.

“The minute the last team was drawn… there was already a large group of multiple (functional) areas within FIFA to try to put together this puzzle.”

Zubiria added that the scheduling process accounted for myriad factors, from the weather on site and the time back home in participating teams’ countries, to the recovery and potential travel facing players and fans.

“We’ve tried to basically strike the right balance,” he said.

In a pre-tournament interview with The Athletic, Zubiria explained why the World Cup final is being played New Jersey’s outdoor MetLife Stadium, in the height of the afternoon heat.

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The showpiece is one of only two games slated to kick-off at 3pm at MetLife, a venue that has already been slammed by many visitors this summer.

“It’s the final of the World Cup — the more people you can bring to this game around the world (via television), the better,” Zubiria said.

“There will be measures to mitigate the heat.

“As you’ve seen, there are not that many other games in times that will raise questions. We managed to leverage it and to balance it out well.”

Ultimately, FIFA’s World Cup schedule has been years in the making, and the domestic US audience was always going to make way for global viewership this deep into the tournament.

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