Thursday as National World Cup Day?

More than 3,500 people have signed a petition urging President Obama to designate Thursday as a national holiday to let Americans watch a pivotal Team USA World Cup match.

The U.S. team faces Germany in a mid-day soccer showdown that could determine if the American squad moves on to the tournament’s 16-team knockout stage.

{mosads}The petition on the White House’s “We the People” site says the timing of the game will be a challenge for viewers: “Americans all over this great country won’t get to see that game, won’t get to enjoy the fraternity of their fellow citizens because it is scheduled for the middle of the day.”

Instead, the petition says, “We’ll be sneaking out for long lunches, refreshing browsers, calling in sick.”

The creator of the petition adds: “You can save everybody the trouble. Make Thursday a holiday. Let’s do this thing right and all stop what we’re doing and watch the game together.”

While the petition needs about 96,000 more signatures to meet the threshold for official Obama administration review, its supporters have less than a day.