Excitement is building ahead of next summer’s World Cup, but for European football fans, and most likely those in England, a lot of late nights could be on the way.

That’s because tournament organisers FIFA are likely to have to schedule matches late at night to avoid the intense summer heat in Canada, Mexico and the USA. Kick-off times are expected to be 5pm, 8pm, 11pm and 2am (all BST, British summer time) – similar to the summer’s Club World Cup.

Players felt the full force of the American heat during that tournament. Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique complained about his team having to play in near 40-degree heat against Atlético Madrid in Los Angeles.

Chelsea eventually won the trophy, but midfielder Enzo Fernández also complained of dizziness while on the pitch, and Man City’s Phil Foden (above) clearly didn’t enjoy it either.

With 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup, lots of matches will need to be packed in.

Five of the 16 stadiums being used across the three host countries have roofs that could be used for shade, but the heat could still be unavoidable, with kick-off times potentially moved even later than 2am.

England are well on course to qualify for the World Cup, so, how big a football fan are you?