Football is a religion in England. The entire country dreams of only one thing: for its team to win a new World Cup after the title at home in 1966. For this, the Three Lions need a united people behind them, which has not always been the case in the past. Particularly when certain players were victims of racism after the lost final at Euro 2021.
However, it will be difficult to unite all the supporters behind their team during the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup against Mexico. This decisive match against the host country will take place on Monday at 1 a.m. in England. “We need the support of everyone, and especially that of the children,” explained coach Thomas Tuchel after his team qualified against the Democratic Republic of Congo (2-1).
Except that the school holidays have not yet started on the other side of the Channel. It will therefore be very complicated for schoolchildren to follow this match in the middle of the night. The English children, however, found a major ally in the person of Thomas Tuchel.
The German coach had a message for parents: “Write a note of excuse for the children not to be at school and let them watch the match. They already spend enough time at school, while the World Cup only happens every 4 years.”
The children will appreciate it, the teachers and parents perhaps a little less. But they will certainly agree to play the game if the only way for “football to come home”, as the English people like to say, is for “children not to go to school”.
