Hosting a World Cup Watch Party? Pizza Math for Kissimmee Hosts

Tomorrow afternoon Mexico and South Africa walk out at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and the 2026 World Cup is underway. It runs 39 days, with 104 matches spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the final lands on Sunday, July 19, in New Jersey.

Orlando didn't get a game, and around here that hardly matters. More than half of the people in Osceola County are Hispanic or Latino, according to the Census Bureau, and plenty of our neighbors have a team to cheer for this summer. Haiti qualified for its first World Cup since 1974, and Curaçao made it for the first time ever. Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Panama are all in, along with the United States.

So the TV goes on, the cousins come over, and somebody has to keep everyone fed from the first whistle to the last replay. If that's you, pull up a chair.

When do World Cup games kick off in Florida?

Most of this tournament is played in time zones close to ours, so the games land at hours you can actually host. In Eastern time, kickoffs run from early afternoon into late night, and it's the late ones that catch people off guard.

Here are a few dates worth writing on the fridge. The opener, Mexico against South Africa, kicks off Thursday, June 11, at 3 p.m. The United States plays Paraguay on Friday, June 12, at 9 p.m., then Australia on Friday, June 19, at 3 p.m., and Turkey on Thursday, June 25, at 10 p.m.

Brazil opens against Morocco on Saturday, June 13, at 6 p.m., and Haiti plays Scotland that same night at 9 p.m. A week later, on Friday, June 19, Haiti and Brazil meet at 9 p.m. Colombia's first match, against Uzbekistan, is Wednesday, June 17, at 10 p.m. The final is Sunday, July 19, at 3 p.m.

If your team isn't on that list, NBC has the full schedule with Eastern kickoff times. Circle Saturday, June 13, while you're at it. Brazil at 6 and Haiti at 9 make a whole evening, and a house with both fan bases in it will be eating for about five hours straight.

Orlando isn't a host city, but Central Florida is watching

Orlando put in a bid to host matches and wasn't picked. Florida's games are in Miami, and the next closest host city is Atlanta. FIFA did put the Orlando City training grounds at Osceola Heritage Park on its list of possible base camps for visiting teams, but the Florida camps announced this spring ended up in Tampa, Boca Raton, and Palm Beach County.

There are still a lot of places around here to watch. Experience Kissimmee rounded up the World Cup watch parties around Kissimmee and Central Florida, and it's a long list. Orlando City is turning Pointe Orlando into a fan festival that shows all 104 matches, free with an RSVP. The Promenade at Sunset Walk has watch parties all tournament, and World Food Trucks in Kissimmee is running a 39-day festival with every match on a big outdoor screen.

Those are great nights out. Plenty of the best games happen at home, though, with grandma in the good chair and the kids in jerseys two sizes too big.

Pizza math for a World Cup watch party

Start with the size of the pie, because this is where hosts lose money. An 18-inch pizza has about 254 square inches of pizza on it, and a 12-inch has about 113. So one extra-large is more than two smalls, and it comes in one box instead of two.

For a single match, figure one 18-inch pie for every three adults, and count kids as half a person. Soccer crowds graze. Nobody sits down to a plate at kickoff; they come back to the box at halftime and again after a goal. For a doubleheader like that June 13 Saturday, don't double the first order. Add a second, smaller round for the second game, because by then the first-game crowd will have slowed down.

For the mix, one plain cheese pie for every two specialty pies keeps the picky eaters and the little ones happy. Our 18-inch cheese pizza is $16.99, and you can add toppings from there. On the specialty side, The Bronx Bomber carries six meats for the serious eaters, the Veggie Pizza covers the friends who skip meat, and the Buffalo Chicken Pizza is a natural pick for a room full of wing fans.

Our specials bundle a lot of this together if you want a shortcut. The Big Family special is two 18-inch one-topping pizzas, 20 wings, 6 garlic knots, and a 2-liter soda. Specials are claimed in the store, so mention it when you order.

What travels well on a long match day

A soccer match is a couple of hours with one short break, and a match day can be three games back to back. You want food that still tastes right in the second half and can be eaten with one hand while the other one is waving at the referee.

• Garlic knots and pinwheels. Both come with marinara and hold up fine at room temperature. The 3-Meat Pinwheels are the hearty choice.

• Calzones and stromboli. The marinara comes on the side, so nothing gets soggy. Cut a large stromboli into thick rounds and it feeds a table.

• Wings. They come plain unless you pick a sauce, and every 10 wings include one sauce and one ranch or blue cheese. Split a big order across a few sauces, like Mild for the kids and Lemon Pepper or Garlic Parmesan for everyone else.

• Jamaican beef patties, beef empanadas, ham croquettes, and potato balls. Handheld and easy to eat standing up with one eye on the screen.

For the late game, a pan of something hot goes over well. Our baked ziti with marinara and lasagna with meat sauce are filling, and every dinner comes with 2 garlic knots. For dessert, tres leches and cannoli go around a room easily, and an order of zeppole is gone before the second half starts.

Cold subs earn a spot too. Our Italian Sub can be served cold, so it sits happily on the counter while everyone watches. Cut it into pieces and set it out between games.

Ordering World Cup catering ahead in Kissimmee

Order earlier than feels necessary, because everybody else in town is ordering at the same time you are. The last few minutes before a big kickoff are when the whole town remembers it's hungry. Set your pickup or delivery time for at least half an hour before the anthem.

For a regular party, ordering online for pickup or delivery works fine, or call us at (407) 933-8800. For a bigger crowd, a block party, or an office that's taking a long lunch for the opener, plan it out with us. The form for pizza catering in Kissimmee is on our page New York Pizza at Your Next Event. Tell us the date, the kickoff time, and roughly how many people you expect, and we'll work it out from there. It's easier when we hear about it days ahead instead of the morning of the match.

On doubleheader days, that second round can be its own order. Pick up the first before the early game and the second between games. That way everybody gets hot pizza both times, and nobody eats a slice that's been sitting since 3 o'clock.

Late kickoffs, leftovers, and reheating

Check our hours against the schedule. We're open 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. The USA and Turkey game on Thursday, June 25, kicks off at 10 p.m., after we close, so pick up dinner earlier and plan to warm it up. The Friday night USA game at 9 p.m. is inside our hours, but grab your order before kickoff anyway. You don't want to be in the car for the first goal. The final is Sunday at 3 p.m., and we open at noon.

To reheat slices, put them in a dry skillet over medium heat with a lid on for a few minutes, and the bottom crisps up while the cheese melts again. For a whole pie, an oven works, with the slices straight on the rack or on a sheet pan. Skip the microwave if you can, since it turns the crust chewy. Wings and pinwheels reheat best in the oven too.

Leftover pizza after a loss is a long tradition in every house that loves a team, and after a win it tastes even better the next morning. Whichever flag is hanging off your porch this summer, order ahead and we'll have the ovens hot.