England fans up and down the country face a hungover and tired day at work next Monday, should the Three Lions get it done and progress against DR Congo tonight. That’s because the Government has ruled out putting a new Bank Holiday in place on Monday, July 6, despite the very late/early kick-off for the round of 16 tie against Mexico.

Should England beat DR Congo on Wednesday as expected, Thomas Tuchel’s England will play Mexico in the next round of the World Cup, but the game will kick off at 1am UK time.

Though the Government has written to local councils urging them to approve special requests to open later to show the match, it has today confirmed to the Express that there won’t be an extra Bank Holiday to accommodate fans staying up until the wee hours to watch the vital clash.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government assured the Express that the Government would be ‘backing the England team all the way’ but added that ‘the current pattern of bank and public holidays is well established.’

It also said that it does not want to do anything that ‘risks tempting fate’, should DR Congo claim an unlikely but almighty scalp against England.

Last month, Sir Keir Starmer refused to be drawn on plans for a new Bank Holiday if England win the World Cup, which would land on Monday, June 20, the day after the final on June 19.

During the gathering of world leaders at the G7 summit in France, the PM was asked if he would declare a new Bank Holiday if England lifts the trophy.

Scotland has already enjoyed an extra Bank Holiday for this World Cup, after the Scottish Government laid on an extra Bank Holiday on Monday, June 15, to celebrate the Scottish national team kicking off their World Cup campaign for the first time in decades.

Asked at the conference if England will get a day to celebrate a possible tournament win, Sir Keir told reporters he didn’t want to ‘jinx’ it but stressed that England’s last win, the famous victory over West Germany in 1966, was under a Labour government too.

He also hinted that a fresh Bank Holiday for England could be on the table, but refused to rule it out or commit to one either.

“I’m not gonna jinx the World Cup.

“But, you know, the last time we won the World Cup it was a Labour government.

“And so it’s absolutely clear that we only win World Cups under a Labour government.

“So let’s hope that this is the next opportunity.”

There was no Bank Holiday in place in 2022 when England’s women lifted the Euros trophy for the first time, but the leader of the opposition at the time was Sir Keir Starmer, who also called for an extra Bank Holiday if the Lionesses won the 2023 World Cup.

At that time, he backed calls for a Bank Holiday. He had called the idea ‘a proper day of celebration’.

When England’s women reached the World Cup final in 2023, he posted on Twitter: “There should be a celebratory bank holiday if the Lionesses bring it home."

But sadly, the Lionesses didn’t manage to win the World Cup, narrowly losing out to Spain 1-0 in the final. However, they did lift the Euro 2025 trophy last summer, but no Bank Holiday was announced for it by the Labour government.