On Wednesday morning, Argentina, the defending champions, secured a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their opening Group J match of the 2026 Fifa World Cup. Victor Otieno was among the millions of fans watching this early-morning match. Played at Kansas City Stadium in Kansas City, the match saw Lionel Messi score his first-ever World Cup hat-trick—a performance that kept Otieno awake until dawn.
Eager not to miss a moment of the action, the football enthusiast revived a trick he used during his high school days. After eating dinner at around 9.30pm, he immersed his feet in a basin of cold water to keep himself awake. Even then, staying awake proved challenging. By the time the match kicked off at 4am East Africa Time, he was struggling to stay awake. This was not the first sleepless night of the tournament for Otieno. Just days earlier, on June 14, he had stayed up late to watch Brazil play Morocco in New York/New Jersey, a match that started at 1am.
