England is through to the last-16 of the World Cup against Mexico in Mexico City.
The clash would have ordinarily seen millions of England fans across the capital flock to their nearest pub without thought to cheer on the Three Lions without thought.
But it posed a problem. The highly-anticipated match will kick-off at 1am UK time on Monday, which is after ordinary licensing hours for bars and pubs.
The Government initially said it wouldn’t blanket extend licensing hours.
But in a much-welcomed U-Turn on Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer announced pubs across England and Wales will be able to stay open until 5am for the match.
He said:“Football might be coming home but we're making sure fans don't have to."Pubs staying open til the final whistle is good news for supporters and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together."The whole country will be backing the team. Come on England!”
New licensing rules were introduced for World Cup knockout matches earlier this year in what the Home Office dubbed “an open goal” for the hospitality industry.
But the new rules where pubs can stay open until 2am without applying for permission only applied to knockout matches featuring home nations kicking off up to 10pm.
The rules are set to return to this if England reach the World Cup quarter-finals, with that game set to kick off at 10pm next Saturday.
Which pubs will be open?
It is still up to individual pubs to choose whether they stay open late.
Pubs staying open to show the game will likely be shouting about it and there will be plenty of fan zones, like Boxpark, that will stay open to host punters late into the early hours of Monday.
The Falcon in Clapham, the Leather Bottle in Earlsfield, the Sun in Clapham, The Hope & Anchor in Brixton, the Hawkins Forge in Battersea, and the Crooked Billet in Clapton all announced extending opening hours and licensing extensions before Sir Keir’s news.
Other picks include The Devonshire in Balham, The Star By Liverpool Street, and Victoria Taps in Westminster.
It’s likely that other venues will confirm opening times as we get ever closer to Sunday night.
Check out the Standard’s list of pubs with big screens to watch World Cup matches.
