An England World Cup win could mean an extra bank holiday, Sir Keir Starmer has hinted ahead of a quarter-final clash with Norway at the weekend.
The Prime Minister hailed Monday’s win over Mexico as “one of the best England performances I’ve ever seen” and victory against Norway would take them a step closer to a first World Cup win for 60 years.
The Three Lions fans in Miami for the quarter-final tie still had the Mexico game at the forefront of their minds, with one saying that even if the team wins the tournament, “it won’t be that”.
Asked whether he would back a bank holiday if England managed to win the tournament, Sir Keir told reporters at Wednesday’s Nato conference: “I don’t want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final.”
With the final taking place on Sunday July 19, it is thought the following Friday has been earmarked as the most likely date for a celebratory bank holiday.
During his time at the Nato summit in Ankara, Sir Keir exchanged banter with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store, reminding him England only win the World Cup under a Labour government.
He told reporters: “I’m a good friend of his.
“The Norway-UK relationship is as strong as it’s ever been, and he’s a key individual in the coalitions that we’ve been building.
“But for 90 minutes on Saturday evening, we’ll have to go our different ways as we go into that match.”
Sir Keir also said he had resisted calls to attempt to overturn Jarell Quansah’s red card against Mexico, after Donald Trump persuaded Fifa to suspend US player Folarin Balogun’s suspension to allow him to play against Belgium.
He said: “I can’t tell you how many messages I’ve had to rescind the red card that we received in the early hours of Monday.
“I hasten to add, I haven’t attempted to do that.”
Ahead of the quarter-final clash against Norway, thousands of England fans are set to descend on Miami, with the game expected to feel more like a home tie in comparison to the match against Mexico.
Reflecting on the night at the Estadio Azteca, Ben Shaw, 33, from Preston, told the Press Association: “It was the best footballing experience of my life – and I don’t think even if we win it here, we’ve said this, if we win it, I don’t think it’ll beat that. That’s, how good it was.”
He added: “If I paid 300 dollars… for Mexico, that’s a bargain, because I’d have paid £2,000 for that if I needed to.
“For that experience I had, it was amazing.
“I’m a Preston fan, and I never see anything good watching Preston – so even if Preston got to the Premier League, that night would still be better.
“Nothing will beat it, ever. And I’m confident that if we win it, that night in Mexico will still top it.
“It’s one night which we will be talking about for a very long time.”
George Crotty, 31, from Manchester, said the game against Mexico was “incredible” and it was “something to remember forever”.
Asked if anything could exceed his experience of the game against Mexico, he said: “I think maybe if we win it, maybe winning it.
“Obviously we’ve got to get through the game against Norway first and see how that goes.
“But I think for the trip, for me, because that was the first one we came out to, and then this one, it’s made the trip regardless of what happens after that.”
Another England fan, Tobi Garrett, 22, from Essex, said the performance in the round of 16 gave him hope for the Three Lions’ chances in the tournament.
“It feels different this year,” he said.
“Genuinely, I think that. As much as I love (Gareth) Southgate, I don’t think under Southgate we do what we did against Mexico.
“It was 25 minutes with 10 men – Dan Burn came on and he’s probably a national hero now.”
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