England to play next match in the middle of the night with fans to miss clash | Football | Sport

England have booked their place in the round of 16 at the World Cup after Thomas Tuchel’s side secured a dramatic 2-1 win against DR Congo. After topping Group L, the Three Lions met DR Congo in the round of 32. It was the first-ever match between the two nations in Atlanta on Wednesday evening. And Brian Cipenga caused a huge shock when he put the Congolese in front after just seven minutes. England were frustrated for much of the match until Harry Kane headed in a priceless 75th-minute equaliser before the captain thrashed in a magnificent winner with just four minutes to play.

But it’s not all good news for England fans. That’s because supporters face the prospect of waking up in the early hours, or staying up for most the night, to watch Tuchel’s side in action in the next round. The reward for beating DR Congo is a clash against co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City this weekend. That match takes place at 6pm local time on Sunday, which means it will be 1am UK time on Monday morning.

Three Lions supporters will need to stay up until around 3am to watch the match in full, with many facing a sleepless night before heading off to work just a few hours later.

Should England beat Mexico to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament, however, fans will be spared any further late-night kick-offs, with a potential last-eight fixture – against Brazil or Norway – pencilled in for 10pm UK time on Saturday, July 11.

A semi-final on July 15, which could see England face holders Argentina, would also kick off at a friendly 8pm. That is the same time the final will take place on Sunday, July 19 with France and Spain among the teams who could lie in wait if England make it that far.

Tuchel warned before England’s match against DR Congo that fans should not expect “sexy football” as he declared how much he loves the pressure of knockout matches, having developed an outstanding win rate in cup matches.

Tuchel said: “I just love it. I just love it. It just gives an extra edge. It’s what makes FA Cup special and Carabao Cup and like whatever. But listen, like the first rounds of FA Cups and the rounds of 32s and in Carabao Cup, they’re not sexy.

“They’re not glamorous. You need to overcome them, and later it becomes glamorous, it becomes a big event. Like in Champions League, the first rounds, you need to overcome it. You need to go out of group, and then you need to find the win. You need to wear opponents down.

“You know that they have quality, and we will face again now in the first knockout, we will face a copy of Ghana, a copy of Panama, a proud team, a defensive team, a committed team to defending, a quick team, happy to counter-attack.

“We have more of the same to come so need to get our expectations right. Don’t get frustrated, keep on believing because we have 90 minutes, we have 120 minutes and we have a lot of chances to win this match and this is where the focus is.”