It might have been sleep-deprivation or it might have been the booze. But either way, it was the beautiful game.Shortly after 4am, as ten-man England scraped to a nail-biting 3-2 win over Mexico to reach the quarter finals of the World Cup, the nation went berserk.While fireworks were set off in Piccadilly Circus, at the Steel Yard fan zone on the River Thames, there were tears, strangers hugged strangers and pints of beer took flight as 350 people breathed an enormous sigh of relief, waved their shirts in the air and danced on trestle tables to Football's Coming Home, Sweet Caroline and Don't Look Back in Anger.But rewind eight hours and the scene across the capital was very different indeed.By 8pm replica football shirts were amassing in pubs and bars. The smell of cheap polyester and warm beer told of a nation on edge: England expects.But of course, this was no ordinary game of football. From the moment England defeated DR Congo by the skin of their teeth – or the leather of Harry Kane's right boot – last Wednesday, there had been one question on the lips of every Englishman: to stay up or not to stay up?England fans celebrate England's win over Mexico in Piccadilly Circus Opposition react to the nail-biting knockout game at a Mexican restaurant in north London Mexico fans celebrate one of their team's goals with a kiss Mexican hearts in London were broken in the restaurant Mestizo, close to Euston station Flares are set off in Piccadilly Circus as England have their greatest World Cup win since 1966For England's tie against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City was slated for the unpalatable time of 1am BST, only for things to get even worse shortly after midnight this morning when officials announced bad weather had delayed the start by a further hour.'Write an excuse for school and let them watch football,' England's German manager Thomas Tuchel pleaded with parents last week. 'They have so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch.'Unsurprisingly, Tuchel's comments caused concern in the Department for Education with Secretary of State Bridget Phillipson stressing she expected children to turn up for school on Monday. Well, the children may be ready, but whether the parents are in a fit state to drop them off remains to be seen.For as the Daily Mail plodded the streets of London last night and into this morning, visiting bars, pubs, restaurants and fan zones, it was clear the nation had decided this was a moment not to be missed – a decision made easier when outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declared an extension to licensing laws, much to the dismay of police chiefs who criticised the 'late announcement'.But as the police grumbled, the people rejoiced.Greene King announced more than 600 of its pubs would stay open while Marston's said more than 400 of its sites would do the same.And yet, shortly before 11pm and there was near silence in south London's Kirby Estate in Bermondsey.'Most people are trying to get some kip before kick-off,' explained Chris Rowse, one of the masterminds behind no fewer than 400 St George's flags fluttering across what has been dubbed 'Britain's most patriotic estate'.'I've just put my little boy down for a sleep and then I'll wake him up at 12:30 for the game,' Chris explained, revealing the machinations of his finely-tuned plan. 'When it gets to the quarter final we'll have a big screen on the estate, but tonight we're just having some neighbours over.'Thankfully, Chris's nine-year-old son has permission – along with classmates – to turn up to school an hour later after the game. Chris, however, was less than impressed to learn his recycling shift started at 8.30am. With such an early start, might Chris head to bed at half time? England fans in the throng at Boxpark Wembley react as another goal goes in for the Three Lions Kane's shirt is held aloft as the England captain's penalty proved to be the difference'Behave yourself!' He chuckled. 'If there are lightning strikes and extra time it could go on until 5 or 6 am. But I won't miss it. It's an England win,' Chris concluded. 'I don't know by how much and I've got 'em all wrong so far. But if we can shut the crowd up with an early goal…'Meanwhile, halfway across London behind Euston train station and a very different scene was unfolding. For the Daily Mail had been invited to join around 500 Mexican fans congregating at the two-floored Mestizo Restaurant and Tequila Bar.Shortly after 11pm and the crowds were queuing round the block while those inside feasted on nachos, tacos and tequila shots. Fans were dancing on the tables long before the match started while a mariachi band only added to the noise, complete with wide brimmed sombreros.'This is the place to be if you're Mexican,' declared 30-year-old manager Carlos Alvarado. 'We are the spot. We know how to party so when we heard about the all-nighter, we knew we'd do it and have an incredible night. You won't find anything else like this. It's a hell of a party.'Among the crowds were husband and wife Nick Jackson and Liz Salais, British and Mexican respectively.'He's trying to crush my dreams, but I think we will win,' smiled 27-year-old Liz. 'I love England but tonight I am all Mexico. We've been married for three years and this has been the biggest test but I am sure we will be ok.'And yet, despite the early excitement, the news we'd all been waiting for duly arrived and kick-off was pushed back to 2 am.Thirty-year-old Josie, who was watching the game in a central London pub, told the Daily Mail she'd come out with friends on the condition she'd be in bed by 3.30am. 'That now looks more like 4:30,' she said, grimly. 'I've got to be at work by 9:30. It's fun though,' Josie conceded, 'the pubs are open until 5 am and I want to be a part of that.''We would be in bed already if the pubs weren't open,' Josie's friend confessed, offering tongue-in-cheek thanks to the outgoing Prime Minister.The mood ten minutes up the road in Leicester Square was equally stoic. 'When something's out of our hands, we can't do anything about it,' declared shopkeeper Sami, raising a glass of beer. 'We just have to wait and continue drinking,' he concluded with a smile, revealing he'd been on the sauce for seven hours since finishing work that afternoon.And drink they did. A security guard at 900-person capacity sports bar O'Neil's in Leicester Square revealed they were expecting a full-house all night while Mexican fan Valentina Guzman from Los Angeles moaned to the Daily Mail that she was going to her hotel room to watch the game because of the length of queues outside central London's numerous pubs.When Big Ben did eventually strike 2am, one man in a double tracksuit was being walked out of The George pub in south London in a near unconscious state, the day's alcohol claiming surely not its first victim. But for those still in situ, and there were hundreds at The George, the National Anthem was sung with aplomb, the Mexican anthem routinely jeered, and the first kick of the ball met with a mixture of excitement and relief. We were going to get some football after all. The time for discussing England's frailties at right back and whether Anthony Gordon or Marcus Rashford should start on the left were finally over.The Azteca stadium in Mexico City – where Mexico had lost only two of 88 competitive games – is 2,240m above sea level, a daunting prospect for any athlete. And yet, nothing could compare to the sky-high hopes of a nation five and a half thousand miles away across the Atlantic Ocean.'Of course we're going to win,' announced insurance broker Ollie, half a pint sloshing in his right hand, left draped over his friend, and as midfield maestro Declan Rice received an ominous early yellow card. 'We're England… and I haven't stayed up to lose to Mexico.'Indeed – as Ollie pointed out – the last England manager to lose to Mexico was Mike Bassett, who famously got stuffed 4-0 by the Central Americans in the eponymous cult satirical film. If England lost tonight, the jokes would write themselves.Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long. With Jude Bellingham's first goal, there was an eruption of noise at The George, where no fewer than seven screens were playing to hundreds of ecstatic fans. Lager sprayed skywards and the chants of 'one-nil' started up. Bizarrely, the television replay of the first goal was met with an even louder cheer, a fact that possibly betrayed quite how much alcohol had been consumed in the long run up to kick off.Over the following 101 minutes, the drama unfolded at such a rate of knots that the cheers and gasps of the crowd became a wall of unrelenting noise. And yet, one of the biggest cheers was reserved for Dan Burn, the veteran defender who – with just minutes to go – threw himself in front of a Mexican bicycle kick, putting life and limb on the line for his country and inducing a roar from those at Steel Yard fan zone so loud that one could have mistaken it for the Three Lions themselves.'Those last ten were the roughest moments of my year,' slurred Stan, in his forties, reflecting on the victory as others danced around him. 'No. Of my life.'The sentiment was the same in north London where an exhausted Carlos – manager of the Mexican supporters bar, Mestizo, admitted: 'That's the most intense night we've ever had here. It was incredible. We love England. We wanted to win but we hope you do now. Please make us proud.'It's fair to say, however, that not everyone was so gracious in defeat. Police stop the number 14 bus as fans spill out of Soho after England's big win England fans hug after an historic victory in the AztecaMexican couple Maroun Akel and Alejandra Aguilar, both 30, embraced each other at the full-time whistle before Alejandra told the Daily Mail: 'I am grieving. It feels like my dog has died. I'm really upset. It's going to take a lot to get over that… I have no idea how we get up in the morning now.'Others in the bar had already sorted plans for tomorrow: 'My boss can't find out. I said I'm sick. He's already suspicious,' confessed one punter unwilling to give their name.It was at the Azteca Stadium in 1986 where Diego Maradona scored the infamous Hand of God goal to put Argentina 1-0 up in the World Cup Quarter-Final against England, a game the Argentines went on to win. In the early hours of this morning, those demons were surely buried once and for all.Former England striker Alan Shearer, speaking on the BBC, described the victory as 'One of England's greatest performances.' As the crowds dispersed at 4am this morning, one can't help but feel that the likely millions of England fans who stayed up until the final whistle didn't do all too badly either.