W is also for World Cup

On paper, next summer's World Cup Finals appear to have it all: an enticing location in Japan and South Korea, England's confident qualification and all the encouragement David Beckham will ever need to don a kimono. But London's armchair fans are in for a tough time if they intend to watch the action live, with games kicking off at 6am, 7.30am, 10am and 12pm local time.

There are options, of course, for those who wish to stay up for the cup. ES recommends a journey across the time zones. India, Thailand and Australia all share roughly the same zone as Korea and Japan, so any backpacking or visiting friends Down Under is the first and most sensible option for watching matches at the sort of hour God intended.

Alternatively, you could make like a professional footballer with a golfing-by-day, World-Cup-watching-by-night holiday at the fabulous Palace of the Golden Horses in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pit your skills at the venue of the 1999 Golf World Cup before putting your be-spatted feet up in the clubhouse to watch the football.

Travelling far enough in the other direction will also result in a kick-off-before-bedtime situation. Los Angeles, for example, is so far behind Tokyo that you can even get to see the matches the day before your Blighty-bound friends.

But if lack of funds or fear of flying prevents you from leaving these shores, what are your options for avoiding match-lag? Sure, there is always the clubbing all night, get home in time for kick-off option but, by the end of the month, we predict you won't be able to lift your eyelids, let alone watch Becks lift the cup.

But if you want to watch the games in the comfort of your own home without anything more stimulating than a can of beer, why not try adjusting your body clock in increments so that you are on Japan/Korean time come 31 May? Start going to bed and getting up half an hour later per week (it will take some 16 weeks to align with the host countries). If you can't stick to this, just be thankful the 2006 finals are in Germany. And you never thought you'd find yourself thinking that.

A-Z travel guide for 2002