Richmond bars and restaurants embrace World Cup fever

The big picture: For the first time in decades, the men's World Cup will unfold on North American clocks.

• The global spectacle co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada begins Thursday at 3pm, when Mexico opens the tournament against South Africa.
• In total, 48 nations will vie for the game's most coveted trophy in 104 matches through July 19.

Zoom in: Tons of Richmond restaurants are getting in on the global spectacle. More than a dozen of them are airing all the games, and plenty are also offering specials.

Here are the ones shaping up to be the biggest:

Abuelita's on Midlo in South Richmond has its TVs ready and the World Cup happens to coincide with "Aguas Locas" season.

• That's a Mexican party drink, served with tequila or mezcal and topped with Mexican candies, which might be the perfect soccer drink.

Game Plan Bar in Midlothian has turned itself into a World Cup Pop-Up bar.

• They'll have themed hot dogs for $7.99, special cocktails and buckets of beer, and for the Thursday opener, they'll put your picture on a Guinness pint glass.

Gus' Bar and Grill in the Fan has long been a soccer hot spot, so head here if you're looking to watch with soccer die-hards.

House of Futbol near the Diamond District will air all the matches as Richmond's newest soccer bar, and we're pretty sure the only coffee soccer bar in town.

Penny Lane is airing all but three matches and expecting to be packed.

• The downtown pub is asking full groups to arrive together, instituting game spend minimums and adding gratuity to all checks, but it'll still be one of the coolest places to be for any match.

Scotty's Taphouse in Scott's Addition is airing the matches on all 23+ of its TVs and its "MASSIVE projector," plus pouring drink specials and serving wings with team-inspired sauces.

Other standouts include:

The British Embassy downtown will have "savory meat pies, plenty of sausage rolls and an abundance of beer."

Cochiloco in Scott's Addition promises game-day vibes and plenty of birria tacos.

Galley in Stratford Hills will have buckets of beer and any pizza for $14.95 with matches airing on its two walls of TVs.

Importante Bodega in Carytown is extending its hours to show all the matches. Go for the soccer, stay for the wine club.

Las Palmas Mexican and Seafood in the West End will have the matches on all their TVS, and will have specials.

Memi's, an Egyptian restaurant in the Fan, will run happy hour specials until 9pm for the opener. And of course they're opening early for Egypt's 3pm Monday match.

The Park in the Diamond District will have $14 buckets of PBR and Tecate.

Parlay Bar & Lounge in Scott's Addition will have all of the matches on its patio big screen, "ParlayTron." When Team USA plays, they'll also air the matches inside.

Performance Pickleball RVA's in-house restaurant, Kitchen RVA, will be serving up $10 domestic beer buckets and $12 import buckets while all the matches play on the Regency spot's giant TVs.

Rosie Connolly's in Shockoe Bottom is hosting watch parties with day-of updates on their social media.

Taco Bamba in Willow Lawn will offer happy hour deals during all matches, plus $20 Modelo buckets.

Zoom out: The World Cup is an international competition, of course, but a few local spots are going all-in for Team USA, which plays Paraguay on Friday at 9pm.

• Here's where you can find those big deal parties:

⚽️ The Richmond Kickers expect "close to a sellout" for Friday for their first of four free World Cup watch parties, team spokesperson Gaby Di Gangi tells Axios.

• That means you can watch Team USA on City Stadium's 65-by-35-foot screen with 6,000 of your (soon-to-be) closest friends.
• Plus, the Kickers are throwing pre-match parties with $4 Michelob Ultra pints for happy hour (7-9pm), live music, food trucks, a photo booth, soccer Skee-Ball and giveaways.
• Advance registration for the free tickets is strongly encouraged.

🤘 The Broadberry is also having a watch party on Friday with five screens and beer buckets (doors open at 7:30pm). Free.

🎳 River City Roll promises "Red, White & Roll" energy on Friday with full sound on all of its screens, plus food and drink specials and freebies. They're getting the party started at 3pm. Free.

🍻 Bingo Beer Co.'s beer garden will be dedicated to soccer fans Friday night with the match on the projector and sound on. Free.

📆 And save the date for the city's finale watch party on July 19 in 17th Street Market, with the match on a giant LED screen.

📺 If you hate people and crowds, you can also catch the World Cup on TV.

• Games will be broadcast in English on Fox, FS1, and the Fox One app.
• Telemundo will air Spanish-language broadcasts on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app.

The bottom line: The World Cup is here. If you weren't a soccer fan already, you'll likely be by mid-July, along with the rest of Richmond.