INTERACTIVE: Late nights ahead for Malaysia’s World Cup fans

Football fans gather at a mamak stall in the early hours of June 12 to watch the opening World Cup 2026 match between Mexico and South Africa, which kicked off at 3am. – KAMARUL ARIFFIN/TheStar

PETALING JAYA: Although some World Cup group-stage matches will be aired live in Malaysia in the morning, local football fans will still have to stay up after midnight to catch most of their favourite teams in action.

Sixteen out of 26 – or about 62% – of the highly anticipated group matches featuring the major European and South American teams will kick off between midnight and 5am Malaysia time.