Waze users are reporting a new pop-up that shows World Cup scores directly on the navigation screen, and many say it is arriving at the wrong time. Instead of staying out of the way while driving, the alert has become large enough to cover a noticeable part of the display.
The concern is not only the size of the notification, but also when it appears. Some users say the score pop-up still shows up while the car is moving, even though it was originally presented as a quick update meant to be visible only when the vehicle was stopped.
Why the feature is frustrating drivers
Google previously announced a broader set of World Cup-related updates across Search, AI Mode, Gemini, Maps, and Waze. For Maps and Waze, the focus was on helping people get to stadiums and move around host cities with more ease.
Those updates included traffic information, road closures, pedestrian zones, transit details, and refreshed Street View imagery around stadiums. In that context, live score updates were meant to be one more event-specific feature, but many drivers see it differently.
The live score pop-up has drawn criticism because it is not directly related to navigation or road safety. One Reddit user said the notification takes up even more space than the “police nearby” warning, which is a core Waze alert tied to driving conditions.
Another report shared by user yayoshorti on Reddit showed the speedometer reading 15 mph while the score notification appeared. That detail has intensified concerns that the pop-up may distract drivers at exactly the moment they should be focused on the road.
How to disable Live Matches in Waze
For users who do not want the score pop-ups, Waze does provide a way to switch them off. The setting is available inside the app and only takes a few steps to reach.
Open Settings in the Waze app, then go to Alerts and reports. From there, select Reports and turn off the Live Matches option.
Once Live Matches is disabled, score notifications should no longer appear as pop-ups. That leaves the app focused on route guidance and road alerts, which is what most drivers expect from a navigation tool.
What Google said the update was for
Google’s broader event-focused push was meant to make it easier for users to follow World Cup moments while still getting around efficiently. In Maps and Waze, that meant practical travel tools first, with event content layered on top.
The reaction to live scores has been more negative than the response to navigation features because the purpose is different. Traffic updates and road closures can help a trip, while match scores are more of an extra feature than a driving necessity.
That gap between the original idea and the reported real-world behavior is what has fueled the backlash. What was described as a glanceable update while stopped is being experienced by some users as a large pop-up during active driving.
For now, the most direct solution is to disable Live Matches and keep the screen centered on navigation. For drivers who want Waze to stay strictly about the road, that setting is the clearest way to avoid the distraction.