Tuchel urges parents to let children watch England's late Mexico match
Tuchel wants children to watch England’s 1 a.m. Mexico game, as schools, ministers and pubs prepare for a rare night of football that spills into Monday morning.
England’s match against Mexico will kick off at 1:00 a.m. BST on Monday at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, with the game expected to run until around 3:00 a.m. and possibly close to 4:00 a.m. if it goes to extra time and penalties. Thomas Tuchel has urged parents to let children stay up, telling them to “write an excuse for school” and saying the World Cup comes around “every four years” and England need support from “everyone, and especially of the children.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said children could watch and still make it to school, but stressed that parents should decide. She also said she hoped children would be back in school on Monday morning, a nod to the reality that many pupils will be heading into lessons after only a few hours of sleep.
Burnhope primary schools in County Durham will let pupils arrive any time up to 10:00 a.m. and still get their morning attendance mark. Purwell Primary School in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, will keep its registers open until 10:30 a.m.
Pubs in England and Wales will be allowed to stay open until 5:00 a.m. for the match, after ministers introduced a blanket licensing relaxation that overrides the normal 2:00 a.m. limit. The change does not apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The Home Office consultation on World Cup licensing was published on 4 December 2025 and updated on 13 April 2026, and it received 38 complete responses and 20 partial responses.
England reached the last 16 after a 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo, sealed by two late Harry Kane goals.
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