Sir Keir Starmer has strongly hinted there will be a bank holiday to mark England winning the World Cup if the Three Lions end 60 years of hurt this summer.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have reached the last 16 of the competition having seen off Mexico in an all-time classic at the Azteca Stadium in the early hours of Monday morning.
Norway, led by Manchester City star Erling Haaland, await in the quarter-finals on Saturday night in Miami.
Should they be victorious, England will face either Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-finals with the final taking place on Sunday 19 July in New Jersey.
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Starmer is widely expected to step down as prime minister the following day and hand over the keys to no10 to Andy Burnham.
England have not reached a World Cup final since their last triumph in 1966. But if that long wait does come to an end, Starmer has suggested one of his last acts could be giving the green light to a special day to celebrate.
‘On the question of a bank holiday, I think I don’t want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final,’ Starmer said.
The extra bank holiday would likely fall on 24 July – the Friday following the final.
The government opted against granting a bank holiday last Monday following England’s win over Mexico which had a delayed kick-off of 2am that morning.
Instead, pubs were granted permission to stay open until 5am with boozers across the country packed out as Tuchel’s side sealed a historic 3-2 win.
‘Have another shot and text your bosses to say you’re not coming in tomorrow,’ Jude Bellingham, who scored twice in Mexico City, said in his post-match message to fans.
‘My god, if you can’t enjoy a night like this, just for one night, then I don’t know what it’s worth.’
Starmer won’t intervene over Quansah red card
The only blemish on a glorious night for England against Mexico was a red card shown to Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah, sent off for a reckless challenge in the second-half.
It came amid the storm surrounding Donald Trump’s decision to personally step in to ensure USA striker Folarin Balogun was available to play against Belgium in their last 16 match.
Balogun had been sent off in the previous game but FIFA made the unprecedented move of suspending his red card after talks between Trump and Gianni Infantino.
But Starmer has no plans to step in try and get Quansah’s red overturned.
‘I can’t tell you how many messages I’ve had to rescind the red card that we received in the early hours of Monday,’ Starmer said.
‘I hasten to add, I haven’t attempted to do that.’
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