Keir Starmer could jet off to World Cup final in one last foreign trip as PM - just hours before he leaves No10
It remains unclear whether the Prime Minister will pay for his ticket should England beat Argentina on Wednesday
It remains unclear whether the Prime Minister will pay for his ticket should England beat Argentina on Wednesday
Sir Keir Starmer will head to the World Cup final this weekend if England defeat Argentina - his final foreign trip as Prime Minister.
Should the Three Lions emerge victorious in Atlanta on Wednesday night, Sir Keir will jet off to New Jersey for the country's first World Cup final since 1966, just hours before tendering his resignation to the King.
The final kicks off at 3pm local time and is expected to finish by 6pm at the very latest.
Sir Keir would then make the seven-hour journey back to London, departing on a Government plane from Newark Liberty Airport - fewer than 20 minutes' drive from the MetLife Stadium.
Shortly after touching down in Britain, he would head to Downing Street to deliver a final address to the British people.
Sir Keir would then head to Buckingham Palace to meet the King, where he would recommend that Andy Burnham should form the next Labour Government.
It is unknown whether the Prime Minister would pay for his ticket for the game out of his own pocket or whether he would be handed them for free by the FA or Fifa.
Due to the time difference between the east coast of America and Britain, it is not believed that such a trip would delay the handover to Mr Burnham, a No10 source told The Times.
It would mark an extraordinary 49th trip abroad for the Prime Minister in his short spell in charge.
He is currently in France for Bastille Day celebrations alongside other world leaders in Paris, marking his ninth trip across the Channel to the land of England's potential final opponents.
Sir Keir has also undertaken seven trips to Germany, five to the US, and 29 more elsewhere - but never to Spain, whom he was forced to watch beat England 2-1 in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.
The Prime Minister, a self-professed Gooner, has been vocal in his backing for Thomas Tuchel's side so far this tournament.
After England's 2-1 win over Norway in the quarter-final on Saturday, the Prime Minister did not hold back his delight on social media.
"Norway 1-2 Jude Bellingham," he wrote following the Real Madrid star's brace.
In a light-hearted dig to his Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Store, he added: "Your boys took one hell of beating."
The Three Lions' looming semi-final clash with Argentina has already reignited bad blood between the two nations - with Buenos Aires attacking Britain's so-called "illegitimate occupation" of the Falkland Islands.
In a desperate new attempt to stake claim to the territory, the country's Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno demanded Britain open talks on the sovereignty of the islands in a long-winded essay, and even raged at their inhabitants.
Mr Quirno branded the natives an "artificially implanted" population - despite the fact that around 86 per cent of his own country's people descend from Europeans.
However, No10 hit back on Monday, with Sir Keir's spokesman confirming: “The Falkland Islanders are British, with a right to determine their own future.
“The UK’s position is clear: the islanders have repeatedly expressed their wish to remain a British Overseas Territory, and their right to self-determination is paramount.”
While much of the build-up to the tie has been focused on geopolitical tensions, Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni called for supporters to stick to matters on the pitch, saying: "This is a football game and that's all."
If Argentina's humiliating surrender during the 1982 war did not settle matters already, Falkland Islanders made their voices clear in 2013, with 99.8 per cent of voters opting to remain British.
Mr Quirno - who extraordinarily claimed neither the war nor referendum had resolved any dispute - insisted that the future of the Falklands will remain a priority for President Javier Milei's regime.