1 MILLION fans tipped to pull a sickie - 7M sport

1 MILLION fans tipped to pull a sickie

UP to a million England fans are expected to throw a sickie after the World Cup showdown with Colombia.


Posted Sunday, July 01, 2018 by Dailystar.co.uk

1 MILLION fans tipped to pull a sickie
HOT SHOTS: Dele Alli trains with Harry Kane and, bottom right, taking a break yesterday

A UK television audience of up to 26million is expected to watch Tuesday night's clash in Moscow.

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has hailed the last-16 tie as his team's biggest match in a decade. And - win or lose - thousands of businesses could suffer a post-match hangover as workers take the next day off.

Almost one in 10 have admitted they are considering taking a day off by faking sickness during the tournament.

That works out at 2.4m people pulling a fast one, according to the research by Canada Life Group Insurance.

1 MILLION fans tipped to pull a sickie
HOPEFUL: Fans with a replica World Cup trophy

Wednesday is the single most likely day to be hit.

The previous night's match could see England qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time in 12 years.

Bookies make them third favourites to lift the trophy for the first time since 1966.

Men are more than twice as likely as women to cry off work after Tuesday's game.

A Canada Life Group Insurance spokesman said businesses which helped staff keep up with the football were likely to suffer least.

He added: "The World Cup only comes around once every four years so it's unsurprising a lot of people don't want to miss it, particularly men.

"It's important employers do their best to prevent the ‘World Cup Bug' spreading and resulting in empty offices."

Ratings analysts are predicting a peak at-home audience of 20.5m for the match, which has a prime-time 7pm kick-off and will be shown on ITV.

That would beat the 18m who watched England beat Tunisia 2-1 in their opening match and Thursday's 1-0 defeat by Belgium. Another 2.5m will see it online, making it the ITV hub's mostwatched live broadcast ever.

Another 3m will watch in 40,000 pubs across England, but will not be included in the official viewing figures.

And tens of thousands more will watch on big screens in cities up and down the country.

The overall audience is expected to top the 17.5m who tuned in for England's defeat to Germany in the second round of the 2010 World Cup.

TV ratings provider Overnights.tv said: "A prime-time viewing slot will get a big TV audience for England in the World Cup.

"Some people may be travelling from work for games which start at 7pm, but they will arrive during the game and start watching.

"People who watch in pubs are not included in ratings totals."



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