Harry Kane shared an emotional confession ahead of England vs Mexico electrifying round of 16 clash.
According to RTE, England captain hopes his side can provide fans the perfect antidote for Monday morning blues by reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.
Thomas Tuchel's side take on co-hosts Mexico in the Estadio Azteca in the small hours of Monday morning, July 6, hoping to extend their North American dream.
England were given brief hope of being able to watch the game at a more sociable hour as FIFA were in discussions to move the kick-off forward to 7pm (12pm local time) because of the threat of electrical storms.
However, after resistance from both football associations, the governing body stuck to the original time, meaning fans will have to go through the night as the start time remains at 1am on Monday.
Keir Starmer allow pubs to stay open until 5 am
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer extended the weekend when he announced that pubs can stay open until 5am earlier this week, and Kane wants fans to be pulling "all-nighters."
He said, “Obviously it’s good news that the pubs are staying open for the fans. We know how much the World Cup means to everyone and all the fans at home, so I’m hoping there will be a few all-nighters to be honest, just going all the way through and celebrating until the next day and then catch up on some sleep after that.”
Harry Kane opens up about Estadio Azteca emotional importance
Kane has urged his team-mates to "write our own history" as they look to banish the ghost of Diego Maradona's “Hand of God.”
Maradona went down in English football folklore for his Azteca antics 40 years ago as his blatant handball and stunning solo second goal earned Argentina a 2-1 quarter-final win in the 1986 World Cup.
Kane said, “It’s an historic stadium for many different reasons. A tough one to take as an Englishman after that game in particular, but it was a long, long time ago. Forty years ago now.”
“It’s about writing our own history. We know we have the chance to do something really special in a special stadium away from home. There is nothing better than that feeling of winning in a tough away game. It’s not about the past, it’s about what we can do in the future,” he added.
Kane met Maradona nine years ago when he came to visit Spurs’ Argentinian manager at the time, Mauricio Pochettino.
The pair did not discuss that 1986 encounter, but Maradona, who died in 2020, gave him advice about giving the goalkeeper "the eyes" when shooting.
