London’s streets resembled a ghost town during Monday morning “rush hour” as football fans caught up on their sleep after England’s nail-biting World Cup win over Mexico.
Photos taken around the City in Old Street and Moorgate shortly before 8am show streets normally full of people at that time were virtually deserted.
A photo of Old Street Tube station showed just a few people heading out of a station which would normally be heaving.
While another photo showed the normally bustling junction of Moorgate and London Wall with just a few people wandering around just before 7.30am.
It comes after many workers were choosing to work from home, take the day off or head into work later after watching England’s famous World Cup last-16 win that kicked off at 2am BST, and didn’t finish until beyond 4am.
Footfall was down around central London office hubs, including the City and Canary Wharf, between 6am and 10am by 15.4% compared with last Monday, an analysis showed.
Data, from MRI Software, which tracks footfall around retail hubs, such as shopping streets and centres, also showed that footfall was down 12.4% across Zone 1 compared to last Monday.
Jenni Matthews, a retail analyst with the firm, said: “I would say the data shows following the match, thousands of people have chosen to work from home of book time off.”
London pubs were packed out for the game while others watched at home, either staying up or setting an alarm to get up in the middle of the night to watch the match.
Some fans in the capital admitted they were going to pull “sickies” after staying up and watching.
Following the 3-2 victory England hero, that sent England into the quarter-finals Jude Bellingham told the nation to have the day off work and school to celebrate.
Bellingham scored twice in 98 seconds in the win over the co-hosts at the Estadio Azteca.
Thomas Tuchel’s men played over 30 minutes with 10 men in a match that will live long in the memory.
“Kids stay off school, parents don’t go to work, enjoy your day, have the day off if you can, these nights don’t come often,” Real Madrid star Bellingham said.
And it seemed many Londoners had heeded the advice with the deserted streets that were seen in central London.
HR bosses had predicted that more than 500,000 employees would call in sick on Monday across the country because of the game’s kick-off time.
With pubs allowed to stay open until 5am to show the game, it was predicted that many people would arrive late to work with hangovers.
Millions in the UK are also believed to have taken annual leave.
Alan Price, the chief executive of BrightHR, which monitors absence at 50,000 companies, said: “Half a million people are expected to call in sick, while groggy heads and lack of sleep cause a significant drop in productivity.
England fans who stayed up until dawn to watch England clinch a spot in the World Cup quarter-final said they were “pulling sickies” as dawn broke on Monday morning.
Speaking outside Wembley Stadium in north-west London after watching the game at Boxpark Wembley, Ollie, 29, who did not want to disclose his surname, joked he would be “very ill” in a few hours when he needed to go to work.
“And luckily my manager is also ill,” he told the Press Association.
“The win was a long time coming,” he added.
Two women, who did not want to give their names, also told PA they would be calling in sick in a couple of hours time, as they joined hundreds of fans celebrating along Olympic Way.
