England are into the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Following a touch-and-go win against DR Congo on Wednesday, July 1—which saw the Three Lions 1-0 down after 7 minutes, before two second-half goals from Harry Kane secured victory—the team will now The Three Lions will now head to the Azteca, where they will face Mexico.
With a UK kick-off time of 1 am on Monday, July 6 (to be clear, that’s Sunday night into Monday morning), many will be wondering where they can watch it, or if they should watch it at all… Mexico’s home record is just two losses in 89 competitive fixtures at their national stadium.
While the government has already allowed for extended pub licensing hours to accommodate the late kick-offs (until as late as 2 am in some cases), it has now ruled out extending pub hours further for the England v Mexico game—which could run as late as 4 am if it goes to penalties.
What has been said?
In the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson stepped forward to urge the government to consider extending licensing laws: “Pubs will miss out on a real opportunity to get money in the till if ministers do not make a blanket extension for licensing hours.”
“Pubs can stay open for an extra two to three hours depending on how late the match starts,” said Business Minister Kate Dearden MP. “Regarding Sunday, unfortunately that doesn’t apply with the 1 am start, but going forward we are absolutely backing our pubs so people can watch and support our lads, and it’s coming home hopefully.”
What can pubs do?
Pubs can only extend hours from 11 pm to 1 am for games with kick-offs from 5 pm to 9 pm, and until 2 am for kick-offs at 9 pm and 10 pm. Pubs could apply for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) to stay open later, but this must be done five working days beforehand, meaning it is already too late to apply.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that nowhere is showing it. Plenty of clubs and other venues already have late licenses and may be ready to step up to the spot. While you can always watch it from the comfort of your home in your PJs on the BBC. However you watch, just don’t sleep through it. Thomas Tuchel has even urged parents to let their children bunk off school…
“Write an excuse for school and let them watch,” said the England manager. “There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch. There will be a big match in four days, and we need the support of everyone, especially the children.”
England will play Mexico in Mexico City on Monday, July 6, at 1 am BST.
