FIFA in Prague: The best Prague venues to watch the World Cup from dusk til dawn

The World Cup kicks off tomorrow across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and for the first time in 20 years, Czech fans have their own team to follow through the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19.

For viewers from Czechia, the catch is that most of it happens in the middle of the night. The dominant window for matches falls between midnight and 6 a.m.

We checked in with bars and restaurants across Prague to find out who's showing what, when, and how early you'll need to stay up or set your alarm.

The Czech national team draws two early-morning group-stage fixtures and one evening match, a schedule that's forcing bars, pubs, and restaurants to bring on overnight staff, shift to time-zone-friendly hours, and even run beer-breakfast buffets.

"It will be a more demanding operationally, but we believe it will be an interesting opportunity for football fans, it's definitely worth it to try and cheer together with our guests," the owner of Prague's Meat Beer restaurant told iDnes.

Meat Beer is just one of many operators throughout the country treating the disruption as a marketing opportunity, with football-themed menus drawing on the three host countries' cuisines.

Brno's Hladinka a Šnyt on Kounicova Street will open at 3:30 a.m. for the Czech Republic's first-round match against South Korea, serving a breakfast buffet for early risers. 

The late kick-offs don't only affect Czech fans. Prague has supporters from across the bracket, England, Croatia, Brazil, Argentina, France, Portugal, and plenty more, and several pubs and sports bars are preparing for around-the-clock coverage to accommodate all of them.

For fans whose team plays in the more civilized evening window, between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., the options are straightforward. Tomorrow's opener, Mexico vs. South Africa, for instance, takes place at 9 p.m. Czech time.

But the venues we spoke to are also making provisions for the nights that run considerably later.

Rocky O'Reilly's, which has 18 screens and a large projector, is aiming to show every match, though they'll stay open late, selectively prioritizing high-interest fixtures featuring sides like Germany, Spain, and England over smaller group-stage games.

In Old Town, McCarthy's is going further, committing to every game regardless of kick-off time, making it one of the more reliable options for fans whose team plays in the dead of night.

For groups, The Down Under Pub is worth the extra step: they're committed to full tournament coverage, including overnight matches, but require advance reservations. Bookings through their website can accommodate up to ten guests for up to four hours, worth sorting early if you want a guaranteed screen for a specific game.

Pilsner Experience is also showing games and, of course, offering their world-famous pilsners to fans in their beer pub. They told us they are happy to open for every match, but fans must book in advance so they can accommodate.

The city's Irish pub circuit is well covered, too. The Dubliner is showing nearly everything except the latest overnight kick-offs, with one notable exception: they're extending hours for Scotland's June 13 fixture.

Gabby's Irish Pub takes a similar approach, most matches on, with only the very latest start times as the cut-off.

While there is no official fan zone this year due to the late hours of the matches, there are still options for large-scale viewing parties.

Favela Music Club is running watch parties from June 11 to June 25, with a focus on the tournament's Latin American contingent: Brazil, Portugal, and defending champions Argentina. The party pairs the matches with Afro and Latin music and the full menu of its sister venue, Delicia Brazil Restaurant.

If you'd rather stay in, you have options. In Czechia, broadcasting rights are split between ČT and TV Nova, with ČT covering more than 50 matches free-to-air on ČT sport, streamable via iVysílání. The coverage is in Czech, but it's free and reliable for every Czech national team match.

For English commentary, the best free options are the UK's BBC iPlayer and ITVX, and Australia's SBS On Demand, which all carry every match, according to Goal.com. Since these streams are region-locked, you'll need a VPN to access them from Czechia. FIFA+, now hosted on DAZN, also carries free highlights and condensed match replays after each game ends.

For fans ordering in, Bolt and Foodora are boosting capacity for late-night and early-morning orders during the tournament; Wolt operates around the clock.