England fans desert Monday commute after Bellingham and Kane sink Mexico past 4am

Britain’s morning rush hour ground to a near-halt on Monday after England’s weather-delayed World Cup victory over Mexico kept millions of supporters awake until after 4am, leaving commuter roads and railway stations noticeably emptier than usual.

The match, originally scheduled to kick off at 1am UK time, was pushed back to 2am after severe weather triggered the stadium’s thunderstorm protocol just an hour before the opening whistle. The final whistle did not blow until shortly after 4am, by which point Jude Bellingham had scored twice in quick succession and Harry Kane had sealed the win from the penalty spot to send Thomas Tuchel’s side into the quarter-finals.

The result was a nationwide case of what observers quickly dubbed the ‘Great British Skive-Off’. Bleary-eyed fans across the country swapped the Monday morning commute for working from home, annual leave, or simply staying in bed, producing scenes at usually bustling transport hubs that looked more like a bank holiday than a working weekday.

The extra hour’s delay caused by the thunderstorm protocol proved particularly costly for those who had already sacrificed sleep to watch the original 1am kick-off, pushing an already late night into the small hours and making the prospect of a 7am alarm even harder to face.