Tesco will close its Express stores early if the England football team reaches the World Cup final to allow colleagues to watch the match when it starts.

The supermarket retailer will close its Express location across England at 7:30pm instead of the usual 10pm or 11pm.

This move aims to give thousands of staff members time to go home or to the pub in time for the match to begin while still maintaining their normal pay.

Tesco’s larger supermarkets across England will already be closed by the time the match begins due to the match falling on a Sunday.

The Express Stores will remain operational as normal during the daytime so fans can purchase match-day essentials.

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Customers will still be able to place online orders through the retailer’s delivery service Whoosh until 11pm, and stores will reopen as normal the next morning.

All of the online grocery home shopping orders placed for Sunday evening will be delivered as normal.

Kevin Tindall, managing director UK operations, Tesco said: “We appreciate just how much this would mean to so many of our colleagues, so if England makes it through to the final, we will close our Express stores across England in time for all colleagues to be able to celebrate with their family and friends.”

Tesco stores in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to remain open and operate in line with their usual hours.