“I have to be home in time for the game”

[Eastie77Returns]

Honest opinion: would this annoy you? You’ve planned a night out with a friend and they send you a text beforehand to say they are looking forward to meeting up but wanted to let you know they had to be home in time to watch the England time tonight.

I’d be saying “great, let’s watch it together”. I would not be annoyed in the slightest.

No. It’s the World Cup!

I think it's a bit rude tbh. The World Cup isn't important to everyone and I'd say the onus is on you (as the person who wants to watch it) not to make plans for a match night. Since you were the one who got the time wrong, I think you should have just accepted that you would miss part of the game and not make your friend feel less important than a football match.

If your friend was equally a fan then this wouldn't be a big deal at all, but since she isn't, the right thing to do imo is to stick with prearranged plans and not make her feel rushed.

As you had had nearly 3 hours together, 7pm - 9.45, I don't see the problem?
And as others have said, it's the World Cup!

Even if she's not excited, she surely appreciates the national mood and understands that you want to be part of it

oddly I was in this situation last night .

a group of us were going out for a meal . We had traveled just shy of 30 miles to the nearest city , it had been planned for a month and there was 10 ish people. As soon as people had finished the last bite of food , a taxi was called and 6 of the group were gone in minutes.

I actually thought it was a bit shitty too . Best part of £50 and tbh I wish I hadn’t bothered

Yes, I'd be pretty fed up. It might be OK if you suggested watching the game in the pub, but I'd expect to be asked, not told.

I guess it depends how far your friend had to travel and how much notice you gave. Apologise profusely because you made a mistake about the time of the match and then prioritised that over your friend. If you don't make a habit of behaving like this hopefully she'll forgive and forget.

They don't 'have to', they just 'really want to'.

We've know the dates and times of the WC quarter finals for weeks. I know this because DP has sorted his social life and training around it. Letting her know on the day was really poor, and 'it's the WC' doesn't make it OK. And I've warched pretty much every game, not just the England ones.

Then you were out of order - you should have rescheduled once you knew England were playing last night.

Not in the least - I’d be leaving in time, too! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

No. It's once every 4 years.

Get over it.

i feel sorry for anyone with a wedding on the day England is playing

Not for this particualr match as it was more than just a normal match. At least they were upfront about it and not triyng to make some excuse up later on in the night.

Yes, the dates of the 1/4 finals have been set, but we haven't known
a) if England would be in them
b)if England were in them, which one they would be in

Those things both depended on earlier results.

But I agree we've known since the last game, and that not letting her know until the day was rubbish.

I think if I were your friend I would have preferred to reschedule for another night, when you weren't distracted and itching to get away. You made it clear that she took second place to a football match in your priority rankings.

If you messaged that you had to be back in time for the game I'd be livid. No one has to watch a football game and your lack of apology was rude. You could have said "do you mind if...", or even suggested heading back to yours to watch. That would have been more polite.

Does she not deserve some basic manners from the OP just because it's the world cup? Not even a "sorry, I've just realized kick-off is a bit earlier than I'd thought, would you mind" but "I have to watch the game"?

It’s standard for us to be out for about 3 hours so I don’t think the evening was cut short as such. We haven’t been out on a big night out for years - I think last time was before our respective oldest DC were born, they are 13!

I thought the game was the one at 2am, it was a simple mistake.

Think it was good of your friend to give you the heads up in advance instead of just upping and leaving during your evening out.

I don't think it would bother me based on those timings - it would if we were meeting later and it meant you left after an hour or so, but 7-9:45 is reasonable imo (assuming she's also relatively local and you don't only see her every few years or something)

It’s fine to say that but also just reschedule if it’s annoying.

So you only left 15 minutes early- that should have been ok.