With twice former champions Argentina needing a win to qualify for the knock-out stages after Friday's demoralising loss to England, some die-hard fans warned their bosses they would limp into work exhausted, with the match starting at 3:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT).

"Nobody will get any work done in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, no matter who wins," said Jorge, 26, who works for a law firm in the suburbs.

Ricardo Suarez, who owns a small downtown soup kitchen, said he had invited friends over to his house for a traditional Argentine asado, or barbecue, to watch the game and distract themselves from a chaotic four-year recession.

"As bad as things have been in Argentina, staying up all night and partying will be easy. Working the next day will be the hard part," Suarez said.

Argentina's largest private bank, Banco Galicia, told its employees they could come in at a "flexible" hour on Wednesday. Most traders said they expected activity on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange to grind to a near halt.

With the pre-tournament favourites on the brink of elimination, Susana Bertegui, a 55-year-old housewife, said the pressure was too much to take. "I can't stand it. I'm just going to sleep and see what happens when I wake up," she said.

But others said they would stick it out in the hope that the depressed country might get a lift.

"If we win we're all going to be tired but happy," said Silvia, who works at a downtown bank. "But if we lose it's going to be a day when everybody is in a bad, bad mood."