U2 Delay Argentina Concert for World Cup Soccer Game

U2 this week delayed the start time of one of their concerts in Argentina, so that soccer fans wouldn’t miss their national team’s World Cup qualifying game, which took place the same evening. While the Irish band were popular enough to play in the country’s 53,000-capacity La Plata Stadium, they knew their support was no match for the Argentina national soccer team, who’ve made their way to five World Cup finals and won twice, making them one of the most successful teams in the history of the competition.

Instead of starting their show at the planned time, U2 let their crowd watch the game using four giant screens at the corners of the stadium – and their team enjoyed a 3-1 victory against Ecuador, taking them through to the finals next year. “Can you imagine what the show’s going to be like if Argentina wins?” concert producer Daniel Grinbank said before the game. “And if we lose, at least we can get rid of the bitterness with a great show. You can’t go wrong.”

U2 are currently in South America with their Joshua Tree Tour, which runs until Oct. 25. The tour continues with a run of North American shows beginning on May 12, 2018, and ending on Jul. 1, before the band undertake a European and U.K. leg from Jul. 8 to Aug. 1. More North American dates follow from Sep. 3 to Oct. 11.

The band’s next album Songs of Experience is expected to arrive on Dec. 1 after they decided to delay its launch while they revisited its content after the U.S. election. Guitarist The Edge said in January: “We just went, ‘Hold on a second. We’ve got to think about this record and how it relates to what’s going on in the world. Most of it was written in the early part of 2016, and now, as I think you’d agree, the world is a different place.”

They released a video for new track “You’re the Best Thing About Me” last month.

U2 Albums Ranked in Order of Awesomeness