Why Aussie football fans are in for a nasty shock when they watch the Matildas take on Denmark in do-or-die World Cup clash in Sydney

  • Round-of-16 contest is team’s biggest game yet
  • Huge ratings expected to continue for Denmark game 
  • One aspect of broadcast is sure to anger many Aussies

Millions of Aussies are dying to watch the Matildas take on Denmark on Monday night – but a large number of them will miss out due to the scheduling of the knockout World Cup clash.

The problem lies with the kickoff time of 8.30pm AEST, which puts the broadcast of the match on Channel Seven past the bedtime of millions of young Australians who would love nothing better than to stay up and cheer on Sam Kerr and the rest of the squad.

As it stands, the action is tipped to finish at around 10.30pm AEST – but that only applies if the result is decided in 90 minutes of regulation time.

Since the round-of-16 match is a knockout fixture, it will go to two extra time periods of 15 minutes each if the scores are still locked up at fulltime.

If the sides are still level after the extra 30 minutes of play, the result will be decided by a penalty shootout that works under a best-of-five system. 

Many young Matildas fans will be unable to watch the team do battle with Denmark due to the late kickoff putting the action past their bedtime (pictured, local football supporters at the Australia vs Ireland World Cup match)

Many young Matildas fans will be unable to watch the team do battle with Denmark due to the late kickoff putting the action past their bedtime (pictured, local football supporters at the Australia vs Ireland World Cup match) 

The game could finish long after 10.30pm if extra time and a penalty shootout are needed to get a result - which is a relatively common way for matches in big tournaments to end

The game could finish long after 10.30pm if extra time and a penalty shootout are needed to get a result – which is a relatively common way for matches in big tournaments to end

Should the tie remain unbroken after that, the shootout continues in a sudden-death format. 

Matches in the knockout stages of big football tournaments like the Women’s World Cup are often decided in penalty shootouts, and Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson – along with goalie Mackenzie Arnold – have confirmed they’re preparing for the match to end that way.

If the Denmark contest is decided in a shootout following two extra periods of play, that would set the end of the contest back to the point where many Aussie adults would be worried about staying up past their bedtime – never mind their young children.

While the 8.30pm start time isn’t the latest kickoff in the round-of-16 – France’s game against Morocco on Tuesday begins at 9pm AEST – it is the latest for a match featuring Australia in the tournament so far.

And while it must be pointed out that tournament organisers had no way of knowing the Matildas would fall into that slot ahead of time – as there was no guarantee the Aussies would even make it out of the group stage – local fans still have a legitimate gripe with the late start.

Millions of Aussies are expected to tune in to see whether injured skipper Sam Kerr (pictured) can make an impact after she promised she will play against the Danes

Millions of Aussies are expected to tune in to see whether injured skipper Sam Kerr (pictured) can make an impact after she promised she will play against the Danes  

If the match stretches through the usual best-of-five penalty shootout and goes into a sudden-death contest based on kicks from the spot, the action will go past the bedtime of some Aussie adults, never mind their young kids (pictured, young Matildas fans at the Ireland game)

If the match stretches through the usual best-of-five penalty shootout and goes into a sudden-death contest based on kicks from the spot, the action will go past the bedtime of some Aussie adults, never mind their young kids (pictured, young Matildas fans at the Ireland game)

The 8.30pm AEST kickoff translates to an 11.30am start in London, 12.30pm in the Danish capital of Copenhagen, 6.30am in New York and 3.30am in Los Angeles.

Catering for the huge European and American markets is a delicate balancing act for World Cup organisers as they try to maximise ratings while also dealing with the huge time differences between those countries and hosts Australia and New Zealand.

But one of the greatest benefits of hosting a World Cup is the way games are timed to fit in with the regular pattern of life instead of forcing fans to upend their sleeping patterns to see the action as it happens.  

Australians have already slammed the fact they can’t watch the vast majority of the tournament on TV because most matches are behind Optus Sport’s paywall, with only 15 of the Cup’s 64 games available for free on Channel Seven.

Between that and the time zone problem, keeping everyone happy is impossible – but Matildas fans know every game from here on could be the team’s last in what is a once-in-a-lifetime home World Cup.  

That’s why the crucial 30-minute delay that could prove the difference between young fans experiencing a priceless sporting memory or sleeping straight through it is sure to get Aussies offside.

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Post source: Daily mail

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