Exact date England would be given extra bank holiday as supercomputer predicts World Cup winners
The British government has alluded to plans for a bank holiday if England manage to win the 2026 World Cup.
England are tantalisingly close to victory in the World Cup for the first time in 60 years, with the last victory being the 4-2 win against West Germany in 1966.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed that if England reach the World Cup final, then he will travel to the US to watch the game.
If England manage to beat Argentina in the semi finals tomorrow (15 July), they will be only the second senior England side to get to the final in the men's World Cup.
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Starmer previously alluded to the possibility of an extra bank holiday after England won a hard fought match against Mexico, emerging as the winners with a score of 3-2 against the co-hosts.
England faced a challenging match, playing Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and becoming one of the few teams to beat Mexico at home.
Starmer hailed the match as 'one of the best England performances I’ve ever seen', the Mirror reports.
The prime minister made a wry allusion to a bank holiday, telling reporters: “I don’t want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final.”
When would this potential bank holiday happen?
The World Cup final will take place on 19 July, with the Friday coming soon after it being set aside as a potential date for a celebration, including a potential Bank holiday.
This would mean that the holiday would fall on Friday, 24 July if England are able to secure victory in the World Cup, though that is still some way off.
The World Cup is now moving into its final stages, with all participants in the semifinals now confirmed.
France were the first to secure their spot with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Morocco, and will face off against Spain, who arrived in the semifinal after a 2-1 victory over Belgium.
Meanwhile, England secured their spot in the semi final with a 2-1 win over Norway. They will face Argentina, who were the last team to secure their spot in the semifinals with a 3-1 victory over Switzerland.
Of course, England still have a long way to go if they're going to claim the title as champions as in order to reach the final, they will need to defeat Argentina, including the legendary Lionel Messi.
Argentina have been earmarked as one of the favourites to take home the World Cup this year, and are the current defending champions having won the previous tournament in 2022, meaning that they will pose a big challenge to the Lions.
If they are successful, England will face either France or Spain in the final, with France also suggested as a potential favourite to win the tournament.
If Starmer does attend the final, then it may be his last outing as prime minister after he announced his resignation.
2026 World Cup results so far
Sunday, 12 July
Quarter-final - Match 100: Argentina vs Switzerland, 3-1
Saturday, 11 July
Quarter-final - Match 99: Norway vs England, 1-2
Friday, 10 July
Quarter-final - Match 98: Spain vs Belgium, 2-1
Thursday, 9 July
Quarter-final - Match 97: France vs Morocco, 2-0
Tuesday 7 July
Round of 16 - Match 94: USA vs Belgium, 1-4
Round of 16 - Match 95: Argentina vs Egypt, 3-2
Round of 16 - Match 96: Switzerland vs Colombia, 0-0 (4-3 on penalties)
Monday 6 July
Round of 16 - Match 92: Mexico vs England, 2-3
Round of 16 - Match 93: Portugal vs Spain, 0-1
Sunday 5 July
Round of 16 - Match 91: Brazil vs Norway, 1-2
Saturday 4 July
Round of 32 - Match 87: Colombia vs Ghana, 1-0
Round of 16 - Match 90: Canada vs Morocco, 0-3
Round of 16 - Match 89: Paraguay vs France, 0-1
Friday 3 July
Round of 32 - Match 83: Portugal vs Croatia, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 85: Switzerland vs Algeria, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 88: Australia vs Egypt, 1-1 (2-4 on penalties)
Round of 32 - Match 86: Argentina vs Cabo Verde, 3-2
Thursday, 2 July
Round of 32 - Match 81: USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovnia, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 84: Spain vs Austria, 3-0
Wednesday, 1 July
Round of 32 - Match 79: Mexico vs Ecuador, 2-0
Round of 32 - Match 80: England vs DR Congo, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 82: Belgium vs Senegal, 3-2
Tuesday, 30 June
Round of 32 - Match 75: Netherlands vs Morocco, 1-1 (3-2)
Round of 32 - Match 78: Ivory Coast vs Norway, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 77: France vs Sweden, 3-0
Monday, 29 June
Round of 32 - Match 76: Brazil vs Japan, 2-1
Round of 32 - Match 74: Germany vs Paraguay, 1-1 (4-3)
Sunday, 28 June
Group K: Colombia vs Portugal, 0-0
Group K: DR Congo vs Uzbekistan, 3-1
Group J: Algeria vs Austria, 3-3
Group J: Jordan vs Argentina, 3-1
Round of 32 - Match 73: South Africa vs Canada, 1-0
Saturday, 27 June
Group H: Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, 0-0
Group H: Uruguay vs Spain, 1-0
Group G: New Zealand vs Belgium, 5-1
Group G: Egypt vs Iran, 1-1
Group L: Panama vs England, 2-0
Group L: Croatia vs Ghana, 2-1
Friday, 26 June
Group I: Senegal vs Iraq, 5-0
Group I: Norway vs France, 4-1
Group F: Tunisia vs Netherlands, 3-1
Group F: Japan vs Sweden, 1-1
Group D: Türkiye vs USA, 3-2
Group D: Paraguay vs Australia, 0-0
Thursday, 25 June
Group A: South Africa vs South Korea, 1-0
Group A: Mexico vs Czech Republic, 3-0
Group E: Curacao vs Ivory Coast, 2-0
Group E: Germany vs Ecuador, 2-1
Wednesday, 24 June
Group C: Brazil vs Scotland, 3-0
Group C: Morocco vs Haiti, 4-2
Group B: Qatar vs Bosnia-Herzegovnia, 3-1
Group B: Switzerland vs Canada, 2-1
Group L: Panama vs Croatia, 1-0
Group L: Colombia vs DR Congo, 1-0
Tuesday, 23 June
Group I: Norway vs Senegal, 3-2
Group J: Algeria vs Jordan, 2-1
Group K: Portugal vs Uzbekistan, 5-0
Group L: England vs Ghana, 0-0
Monday, 22 June
Group G: New Zealand vs Egypt, 1-3
Group J: Argentina vs Austria, 2-0
Group I: France vs Iraq, 3-0
Sunday, 21 June
Group E: Ecuador vs Curaçao, 0-0
Group F: Tunisia vs Japan, 0-4
Group G: Belgium vs Iran, 0-0
Group H: Spain vs Saudi Arabia, 4-0
Group H: Uruguay vs Cape Verde, 2-2
Saturday, 20 June
Group C: Brazil vs Haiti, 3-0
Group D: Turkey vs Paraguay, 0-1
Group E: Germany vs Ivory Coast, 2-1
Group F: Netherlands vs Sweden, 5-1
Friday, 19 June
Group A: Mexico vs South Korea, 1-0
Group C: Scotland vs Morocco, 0-1
Group D: USA vs Australia, 2-0
Thursday 18 June
Group L: Ghana vs Panama, 1-0
Group K: Uzbekistan vs Colombia, 1-3
Group A: Czech Republic vs South Africa, 1-1
Group B: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 4-1
Group B: Canada vs Qatar, 6-0
Wednesday 17 June
Group K: Portugal vs DR Congo, 1-1
Group L: England vs Croatia, 4-2
Group J: Argentina vs Algeria, 3-0
Group J: Austria vs Jordan, 3-1
Tuesday 16 June
Group G: Iran vs New Zealand, 2-2
Group I: France vs Senegal, 3-1
Group I: Iraq vs Norway, 1-4
Monday, 15 June
Group E: Ivory Coast vs Ecuador, 1-0
Group F: Sweden vs Tunisia, 5-1
Sunday, 14 June
Group C: Haiti vs Scotland, 0-1
Group D: Australia vs Turkey, 2-0
Group E: Germany vs Curaçao, 7-1
Group F: Netherlands vs Japan, 2-2
Saturday, 13 June
Group D: USA vs Paraguay, 4-1
Group B: Qatar vs Switzerland, 1-1
Group C: Brazil vs Morocco, 1-1
Friday, 12 June
Group A: South Korea vs Czech Republic, 2-1
Group B: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 1-1
Thursday, 11 June
Group A: Mexico vs South Africa, 2-0
Kit Roberts