World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is international football's biggest tournament: national teams from every continent compete for the sport's top prize once every four years. Under the current format, 48 teams play a group stage followed by single-elimination knockout rounds, all packed into a little over a month of near-daily matches. The finals traditionally fall in the June-July window, though the exact dates depend on the host, and qualifying is spread across the preceding years within each continental confederation.

Planning your viewing takes a little math. Group-stage days often stack multiple kickoffs spread across the host country's time zones, and the last round of matches in each group starts simultaneously to keep things fair. Budget about two hours for a group game; knockout ties can run past two and a half hours once extra time and a possible penalty shootout enter the picture. To skip the time-zone arithmetic entirely, set a countdown for each fixture you care about and it will show the kickoff in your local time.