England faces Dawn Of The Dead hell over fears Mexico match should be going at 6am
England faces a Dawn Of The Dead hell amid fears the World Cup early hours’ epic against Mexico may still be going on at 6am.
More than six million workers have made desperate bids to get the day off after realising the last-16 1am kick-off will rumble on until 4am if it goes to extra-time and penalties. But weather experts have warned it may not end there.
According to the Met Office thunderstorms are expected to hit the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City an hour before kick-off. That means the start could be delayed due the threat of lightning strikes.
Freak weather has already played havoc with tournament timings. France beat Iraq 3-0 in Philadelphia after a two-hour mid-match thunderstorm delay. Mexico’s last-32 match against Ecuador started an hour late as lightning rocked the Azteca.
According to US rules play must be stopped if lightning is detected within eight miles of a stadium. A match can only resume 30 minutes after the last bolt – and that countdown restarts if more bad weather hits.
That could delay the climax of the crunch clash – to decide which nation reaches the quarter-finals – until long after dawn. It would trigger time-calling trouble for the nation’s pubs which can only stay open until 5am for fans to watch the action on TV. And it will spark a nationwide skive-off for boozed up and bleary-eyed fans who battled to stay awake for the result.
Experts reckon 2.2m workers will bunk off on Monday after the Government refused to make it a bank holiday. They include 419,739 Londoners, 72,957 folk from Birmingham and 65,729 Mancunians – Britain’s top three hangover hotspots. Research suggests up to 70% of the nation intends to try and stay up to watch.
Productivity is set to grind to a halt with millions of staff either missing or staggering round in a zombie-like state. Union chiefs have called on employers to accommodate flexible working requests so workers can watch the match. The TUC has urged bosses to show ‘common sense and understanding’ by allowing some to work from home or turn in later.
According to BrightHR, which monitors absence among a million employees across 50,000 UK companies, by Thursday (July 2) 5.1m of the UK’s 33.4m workforce had asked for Monday off. Another 1m put in eleventh hour requests on Friday (July 3). If all get their way 4m more workers will be off than on the same Monday last July (2025).
BrightHR chief executive officer Alan Price said: “After the calls for an additional bank holiday for the Mexico game, many workers are taking matters into their own hands, turning Monday into an unofficial Bank Holiday.
“We have seen an influx of holiday requests from fans who plan on staying up all night to cheer on the team against Mexico.” More than 2.3m sickies have already been taken by football fans in the UK during the tournament, according to the company’s data.
Alan said some companies had got ‘creative’ in a bid to minimise the impact and a human resources nightmare. “From late starts to free breakfasts to flexibility with annual leave requests, it’s clear that Brits are looking forward to cheering on the team on Monday morning,” he said.
“While it’s a big boost for pubs and hospitality, there will be an impact on productivity for many businesses. A 3 to 4am final whistle leaves little time to sleep off the hangover so there’ll be a lot of sleepy people, sore heads, and reduced productivity from those who do make it in. Be aware that alcohol remains in the system, so anyone who drives for work must be sober by the time they start.”
Research from Freely – the free streaming platform backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5 – suggests 29% of parents will back England manager Thomas Tuchel’s call to let their children stay up late to watch major World Cup matches. Around 94% of fans said they would not miss key games regardless of kick-off times.]
