Pull an all-nighter? How parents, schools, fans and police plan to cope with England’s 1am kick-off

England fans can take advantage of 5am late pub licences to watch their heroes in action against Mexico in the World Cup. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA View image in fullscreen England fans can take advantage of 5am late pub licences to watch their heroes in action against Mexico in the World Cup. Photograph: Philip Toscano/PA Pull an all-nighter? How parents, schools, fans and police plan to cope with England’s 1am kick-off Popular national pastimes of drinking and football will make post-Mexico Monday a day of sore heads and sleepy children England are through to the round of 16 in the World Cup and, as is customary in the run-up to a major international footballing fixture, the country may be losing its mind. Because piled on top of the 60 years of hurt for the men’s team, England fans have another obstacle to overcome with the forthcoming fixture: a gruelling kick-off time of 1am BST. At the earliest, the final whistle might be blown at about 3am. But we could be looking at a 4am finish if the match goes to extra time and – as is often the case with England – penalties. Should we let the kids stay up? Where will we watch it? When’s time at the bar? When should we start drinking? When should we stop drinking? Here we take a look at the potential impact of the 1am fixture. Schools The row over what kids should and shouldn’t be allowed to do for the 1am fixture blew up within moments of England’s win against DR Congo, when their manager, Thomas Tuchel, urged parents to let their children bunk off school for the Mexico match. “Write an excuse for school and let them watch football,” he said. “They have so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years.” I don’t know if Mr Tuchel has ever screamed “put your bloody shoes on” at a 10-year-old for the 18th time at 8.30am while a seven-year-old refuses to clean his teeth because he doesn’t like the taste of the toothpaste – and all this after a “good night’s sleep” – but (ahem) a friend of mine has … Parents’ WhatsApp groups are now ablaze with strategies for the fixture. Bed at normal time, wake them at 1am and put them back to bed at 3am when they’re full of the adrenaline surge of a win or hamstrung by the serotonin plunge of a loss? Pump them full of Haribo, stick matchsticks in their eyelids, keep them up until the final whistle and risk tsunami-scale tantrums the next day? Or get a full night’s sleep, avoid the score if you can and stick a replay on before they leave for school – but miss the magic of the live moment? It’s an impossible first-world problem. Won’t someone think of the children? For their part, ministers have been suitably vague. “It’s a late game, but children can be in school the next day,” said the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson. Sounds as if Phillipson thinks the kids can have their cake and eat it. At 3am. Some schools have told parents their children are welcome to arrive a little later, while others have decided to screen a replay of the match within t