Hopes have now been lifted for a couple of big nights after England recovered from a goal down to beat DR Congo 2-1 and head into the last 16.
Pubs have been able to apply for late licences throughout the tournament but applications are heard by the Liquor Licensing Court on a Tuesday morning and need to be made by the previous Thursday.
‘Because it’s being hosted in America and Mexico, there’s such a big time difference that we can only really show the games that are at a decent time,’ said Stuart Le Prevost from the KGV.
‘We have a standard bar licence and can close at 12.45 so the 9 and 10pm kick-offs are fine, but anything beyond that is too late.’
The venue has been one of the places to watch recent international football tournaments, but Mr Le Prevost said that games have been less busy than might be expected.
‘England had two 10pm kick- offs and one 9pm kick-off so we took an early decision not to put up a big screen because we are also a centre for the community, so having lots of football fans on the field after midnight wouldn’t have been great for the surrounding area.
‘We won’t be showing the next England game because kick-off isn’t until 1am, but after that it would be 8pm starts for the semi-finals and the final which we would be open for.'
Oceane Cureau, manager at the Last Post, said the pub had been quite busy for the England games.
‘It was good because some of them have been on the weekend and so that’s been busy because people would be in the pub anyway, they just stay a bit later.’
The St Andrew’s pub will be showing the semi-finals and the final. Depending how far England go in the competition, it could put on a larger event.
‘If England do well in the rest of the games, we expect it to be busier from next week as the games get more exciting,’ said Ms Cureau.
The pub also has World Cup deals on food and drinks and a World Cup-specific burger menu, featuring five different burgers inspired by different countries, which she said had been really popular.
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