Recommendations of the Editorial team
The World Cup is just around the corner and the Sportfreunde Stiller are releasing a new album. Is there a touch of 2006 nostalgia blowing through Germany? Short answer: no.
Nevertheless, we want to see how Julian Nagelsmann manages to offer Deniz Undav as little playing time as possible. And if, contrary to expectations, Germany wins against its feared opponent Curaçao – yes, then there will be a mighty motorcade. After all, there is no other place where the German culture can be lived out so reliably: flags on the Opel Corsa and the German battle cry honked against the beat. Luckily, our start times are reasonably humane, so that after the exertions we can snuggle up in bed and twiddle our thumbs at our 9-to-5 job in the morning.
However, one forgets one crucial point: the other nationalities. Because while FIFA was kind enough to adapt the German games to Central European time, Turkey can look forward to kick-off times of 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. The car parade as an unwanted alarm clock is now within reach. Since 48 nations and a broad demographic are represented in Germany, here is the ear plug guide for the 2026 World Cup.
When do the neighbors ring the bell?
With kick-off times between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., you can never be sure when the next cheer will ring out. To be on the safe side, we recommend asking your neighbors which nation they support. If you find this too complicated, here are some demographic facts paired with the World Cup games.
The number 1 nation that requires ear plugs is Turkey. With 1,520,400 Turks living in Germany, the three early morning games will be quasi-home games. The Arda Güler calls are already echoing through the streets of Berlin from the future. The opponents are:
- Australia – June 14th / 6:00 a.m
- Paraguay – June 20th / 5:00 a.m
- USA – June 26th / 4:00 a.m
So either get up early and drink coffee instead of beer – or order new noise-cancelling headphones. But in addition to Turkey, Croatia is also strongly represented in Germany. We have the 413,480 Croatians to thank for additional night shifts:
- England – June 17th / 10:00 p.m
- Panama – June 24th / 1:00 a.m
- Ghana – June 27th / 11:00 p.m
The ear plug guide
Innocuous-seeming kick-off times such as 11 p.m. can still enlarge the dark circles under the eyes. In addition to the 90 minutes of play, the games are interrupted every 22 minutes for a mandatory drinking break. If temperatures continue to rise in Mexico, there may be further disruptions – which could mean a transmission time of up to 2.5 hours. Iraq, Spain and Austria also boast unfavorable kick-off times, which leads us to the following Oropax calendar. You can see the top 5 most populous nations that live in Germany and are taking part in the World Cup. If these nations play after 11 p.m., they fall into the earplug risk period.
Anyone who decides not to follow this World Cup – after all, after Russia and Qatar, the USA is now also managing to make the boycott voices grow louder – can look forward to a World Cup in Morocco, Spain and Portugal in four years. Until then it’s time to check your calendar and fill up your ear plugs.