England manager Thomas Tuchel has urged parents to let their children skip school to watch the Three Lions' last-16 World Cup match against Mexico on Monday, with kick-off set for 1am BST. Speaking after England's 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, Tuchel said: "Write an excuse for school and let them watch football. Come on. There's so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch. There will be a big, big match on in four days and we need the support of everyone, and especially of the children."
Government and Union Responses
Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith disagreed with Tuchel's comments, warning that young people might miss out on important learning. Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on Thursday, she said: "I don't want to be a killjoy here, but I'll tell you what the biggest killjoy is – young people who then don't have the learning to be able to go on and do what they need to do in life. I quite understand if people want to watch the match, including young people, I will be. I'll be having a little disco nap in the afternoon and I'll be celebrating our victory the next morning when I go into work, looking obviously as fresh as a daisy."
However, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, suggested a more flexible approach. He said: "It would be very good I think if the Secretary of State recognised that it's an important event in our calendar and allow a flexible start on that Monday morning. These are such important events in our calendar, and it would be good if as many young people as possible could."
England's Dramatic Win and Upcoming Challenge
England faced a potential humiliating World Cup exit after falling behind in the seventh minute to a goal from Brian Cipenga, who plays in Spain's second division. Harry Kane scored two late goals to secure a 2-1 victory and set up a difficult match against co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
Record Mobile Traffic During Match
Millions of fans streaming England's victory over DR Congo on their commute drove the biggest spikes in mobile traffic ever recorded for the UK's largest networks. Data from EE showed an all-time record peak in traffic during the match, 42% higher than the same time on an average Wednesday. O2 recorded the biggest spike in mobile traffic in its history, 20.4% higher than the previous peak set during the UEFA Champions League final in May. Overall, mobile traffic was 27.7% higher than an average week, O2 said. The figures reflect all 4G and 5G mobile data usage, excluding WiFi or broadband connections.
BBC iPlayer traffic surged by 380% compared to a typical weekday afternoon, according to the network's data. BT also recorded a new peak on BBC iPlayer through its fixed network, with traffic soaring by 492% compared with the average Wednesday shortly after kick-off.
