Alex Kay-Jelski has set out a watch World Cup live plan for England v Mexico, with the last-16 tie kicking off at 01:00 BST on Monday. The will split the night into live coverage and spoiler-free catch-up, giving fans a choice between staying up and avoiding the result until morning.
Kelly Cates on Monday
Kelly Cates will present the coverage, with Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Micah Richards alongside her. The match will be shown live on One and iPlayer, while Radio 5 Live and Sounds will carry live commentary.
A full no-spoiler re-run will air on Two from 07:10 BST. A full re-run will also be available on demand on iPlayer immediately after the match, and live text coverage with in-match clips will run across the Sport website and app.
Alex Kay-Jelski and 01:00 BST
Kay-Jelski said, “World Cup knockout football is absolutely unmissable, but a 1:00am kick-off isn’t realistic for everyone” and added, “We wanted to make sure there was an option for those fans who just can’t stay up to experience one of England’s biggest matches live.” He also said, “So, whether you’re staying up to watch every minute live or waking up to catch every moment spoiler-free, Sport has you covered this Monday.”
The schedule gives the broadcaster a live window for late-night viewers and a separate route for everyone else. An extended 15-minute highlights programme will be available on iPlayer and the Sport Football YouTube channel, and fans can also follow the match live in 3D on Sport's World Cup 3D experience feature.
Thomas Tuchel and the return
The live push comes after England’s dramatic 2-1 win over DR Congo in the last-32 tie, when a peak audience of 16.3 million watched and the average TV audience for the 17:00 BST kick-off was 14 million. England’s earlier World Cup group games against Croatia and Ghana started at 21:00, while the Panama match kicked off at 22:00.
Thomas Tuchel has already urged parents to let children stay up for the game, saying, “There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch,” and, “There will be a big match in four days, and we need the support of everyone, especially the children.” Pubs in England and Wales will be allowed to stay open until 05:00 on Monday for the game, but the ’s split coverage means the main decision is whether to watch live at 01:00 BST or wait for the spoiler-free replay.
