England captain Harry Kane hopes his side can provide the perfect antidote for Monday morning blues by reaching the World Cup quarterfinals.
Thomas Tuchel’s side take on co-hosts Mexico in the Estadio Azteca in the early hours of Monday morning hoping to extend their North American dream.
Devoted fans at home were given brief hope of being able to watch the game at a more sociable hour as FIFA were in discussions to move the kick-off forward to 7 p.m. BST (12 local time) because of the threat of electrical storms.
However, after resistance from both football associations, the governing body stuck to the original time, meaning fans will have to go through the night as the start time remains at 1 a.m. on Monday.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer extended the weekend when he announced that pubs can stay open until 5am earlier this week, and Kane wants fans to be pulling “all-nighters”.
“Obviously it’s good news that the pubs are staying open for the fans,” he said.
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“We know how much the World Cup means to everyone and all the fans at home, so I’m hoping there will be a few all-nighters to be honest, just going all the way through and celebrating until the next day and then catch up on some sleep after that.
“Obviously it’s very late and we all appreciate the support. That’s what sometimes makes the World Cup so unique is these different timings and different memories that you create.
“I think everyone would love nothing more than to be celebrating as the sun’s rising at 5 or 6 a.m..”
