Residents in the Worthing area are preparing for an early-hours World Cup night, as England national football team take on Mexico, in a round-of-16 clash kicking off at 1am on Monday (July 6).

Following an updated UK Government update, licensed premises across England and Wales may, in some cases, remain open until the end of the match, with some potentially trading until around 5am. The move reverses an earlier position that had ruled out further relaxation of licensing rules beyond existing World Cup arrangements.

Outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Football might be coming home but we're making sure fans don't have to.”

In a video, posted on social media, he added: “We’re making sure that pubs can stay open, early on Monday morning, for the England game.

Harry Kane scored a brace to rescue England against DR Congo. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Harry Kane scored a brace to rescue England against DR Congo. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

"Lots of people are making their plans. If you are planning to watch it in the pub, that’s great, and it’s really good for pubs as well.

“So come on England!”

The announcement follows the UK Government’s ongoing commitment to support the pub sector through business‑rates relief, planning flexibilities, and targeted licensing reforms.

As part of this package, ministers have now confirmed that pubs will be permitted to stay open later – without the need to submit a TEN – for specific Home Nation fixtures during the tournament.

While the relaxation covers key late‑stage fixtures, the government has been clear that premises will still need to submit a TEN for any other matches where they wish to extend their hours.

Earlier this year, the government had passed an order enabling qualifying premises to extend their licensed hours until either 1am or 2am for certain World Cup matches. However, this only applied to matches that kick off between 5pm and 10pm.

Before the government U-turn was confirmed, extended hours did not apply, and so premises were only permitted to operate in line with the hours set out in their existing licence.

Across the Worthing area, some venues are now planning for the occasion.

This includes O'Connor's On Warwick Street.

A Facebook post read: “COME ON ENGLAND. The World Cup dream continues as England move on to face Mexico in the Round of 16! We’ll be open for the 1am kick-off this Monday morning – first come, first served. Want to secure your spot? Direct message us to book now.”

If your public house is screening the match, let us know by emailing [email protected].