After 4 years, the FIFA World Cup returns and billions of people will watch one of history's greatest sporting events. It has halted wars, created sporting heroes and unified the world with each goal, last-ditch tackle and knee-slide celebration. 

This year’s edition is held in Qatar and as a result of the time difference, most, if not all, of the matches only begin at 11pm or later. 

Don’t want to miss any action? Here’s how you can enjoy the FIFA World Cup while still making it on the dean’s list. 

#1. Sleep early and wake up before the game

Staying up till 3 or 4 in the morning to watch a game is a really challenging task, especially after a long and tiring day. Temperatures and humidity tend to be on the higher end in Asia. As a result, it’s easy to become exhausted by day's end, making it that much more challenging to maintain alertness until late at night.

The most practical way for us Malaysian fans to catch the game live at its televised time is to sleep early the night before and set up an alarm to wake up just before the game starts. So if you want to catch the 3am match, try hitting the sack by 10pm so that you can wake up on time. 

Sleeping early will also give you adequate rest for the day ahead, ensuring that you won’t be as lethargic as how you would have been had you stayed up all night. 

#2. Study the night before 

After staying up late to watch matches, it can be extremely challenging to get up and ready for school the following day. In situations like these, a sleepyhead will always choose sleep over attending a class. Don’t be that student. 

Rather than missing class or rocking up feeling like a zombie, keep yourself in check by studying the night before. Hitting the books at night could improve your focus and creativity as there are fewer interruptions since everyone is in bed. In fact, some studies have shown that people are able to learn and remember new information during slow-wave sleep, often referred to as deep sleep. So even if you fall asleep while studying, it’s worth playing an audio clip of your study material to help you retain bits of information to piece together later. 

#3. Record the game and watch it in the morning

Can't keep your eyes open for those 3am matches? Simply record them and watch them the moment you wake up.

To experience the magic of the World Cup in all its splendour while still being fresh enough to study and attend classes, watching a recording is the way to go. Yes, nothing beats the thrill of watching a live game but it’s still crucial to ensure that you still have the energy and mental capacity for classes, studies and assignments. 

#4. Save time by watching the highlights without viewing the results 

If you’re swamped with a mountain of assignments and classes, this is a speedy way to keep up with the action while saving time. 

The highlights will show you the most important bits of the match and by avoiding the results, the match will be just as thrilling — minus the sleep deprivation. You may not have the full experience of watching a game for the whole 90 minutes but it’ll save you the agony of those dreaded 0-0 draws.

You can find highlights of the matches on Astro’s YouTube channel for free. 

As the last World Cup for legends such as Neymar, Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the 2022 FIFA World Cup is an unmissable event. Plan ahead and prepare well and you’ll be able to enjoy the tournament without sacrificing your studies.

You might be thinking that studying at night for a game football will not warrant any results but guess what? Science has shown that late-night owls are better than early birds. Read more about it here.