Government make decision on Bank Holiday as Thomas Tuchel makes Mexico plea

With England staring Mexico down in a Last 16 clash at 1am on Monday morning UK time, Thomas Tuchel has urged the nation to sacrifice sleep and "let the children watch", as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has issued a response to bank holiday claims.

England scraped through the Round of 32 encounter with DR Congo thanks to a piece of sheer brilliance from talisman Harry Kane, after going behind early on.

While the win was less than convincing for England's overall tournament hopes, the Three Lions move on to Mexico, where they will have to be at their best again to overcome an 'impossible' obstacle to book a place in the final eight.

With a tough task at hand in Mexico's back yard, England boss Thomas Tuchel has now rallied the nation and urged even the youngest lion cubs to watch the game, despite kicking off in the early morning of a school day.

'Let the children watch', says Thomas Tuchel

Following his side's win, the England boss looked forward to the Last 16 and claimed that they will need everyone's support.

The new manager also called on parents to give their kids the green light to stay up as there are countless more school days, but very few opportunities to watch England in the knockout rounds of a World Cup.

"Write an excuse for school and let them watch football,” Tuchel said in the post-match conference.

"They have so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch, there will be a big, big match in four days and we need the support of everyone and especially of the children."

However, the UK government isn't planning to be so kind.

UK Government says no to Bank Holiday for 1am Mexico clash

Despite taking to social media last night to say, "It might actually be coming home," current prime minister Keir Starmer says that there are 'no plans' for a public holiday this Monday.

Instead, Starmer says that kids should be going to school on Monday morning, but it's up to the parents if they stay up to watch the Three Lions.

"Children should be at school on Monday, but parents will make their own decisions," a spokesperson for Starmer said.

The spokesperson confessed that some kids will be "bleary-eyed", but as long as they are in school on Monday, it is 'fine.'

Knowing that football fever is rampant, the Prime Minister advised that naps should be taken on Sunday for any kids who plan to stay up for the game and head to school hours later.

Starmer has often been strict on not deploying Bank Holidays for footballing success, even snubbing a victory day off for the Lionesses following their Euro 2025 win.

Whether that will change should the England men's team reach the World Cup final on July 17, that is yet to be seen. But there's a long way to go until then.