Entertainment

Football fans are mourning the loss of the early World Cup kick-off

We hardly knew thee.
We hardly knew thee. We hardly knew thee.

The World Cup is just 12 days old, but the loss of the early kick-off had many mourning the end of what is possibly the best bit of the tournament.

Most of the first 11 World Cup days boasted three group games each which, for many, made for an even spread of football throughout, with those in Britain and Ireland for example getting a 1300 GMT kick-off, a 1600 kick-off and a 1900 kick-off most days.

And while the final round of group games sees four games take place each day, two of those kick off at 1500 and the other two do so at 1900.

England’s 6-1 defeat of Panama was the final 1300 kick-off, with all knockout games set to take place at 1500 or 1900 and the final starting at 1600.

So while there’s plenty of football to come, there’ll be no more lunchtime football for those in Britain.

No more eating your lunch in front of Sweden v South Korea.

No more Portugal v Morocco halfway through the day.

And as for taking in Denmark v Australia at midday, you can forget about it.

However, it’s not all bad news. Pre-season is about to begin for some club sides, which means practice games aplenty, such as this Bracknell Town fixture scheduled for… 1300!

All aboard the Bracknell Town bus.