England manager Thomas Tuchel has urged families to put football over school when England face Mexico in the World Cup last 16 early on Monday morning. The match kicks off at 1am BST in Mexico City, potentially limiting the number of viewers able to watch live.
Tuchel's plea to parents
After Harry Kane's two late goals secured a 2-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 32, Tuchel made an emotional appeal. “Write an excuse for school and let them watch football,” he said. “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 response
Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith disagreed with Tuchel's comments, warning about the importance of education. Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, 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.” She added that she would watch the match herself after a “little disco nap in the afternoon” and go to work “looking obviously as fresh as a daisy.”
Union suggests flexible start
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, proposed a more flexible approach. “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,” he said. “These are such important events in our calendar, and it would be good if as many young people as possible could.”
What do you think?
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