Greggs temporarily 'benches' Mexican chicken sandwich range ahead of World Cup clash

Fast food chain Greggs said it has temporarily ‘benched’ its Mexican chicken sandwich range from a select bunch of shops in England on July 5.

The decision comes ahead of The Three Lions taking on World Cup co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with the game scheduled to take place at 1am BST on Monday.

In a post on Instagram, Greggs made the ‘urgent’ announcement’ saying: “After careful consideration we've decided to say adios and bench our Mexican chicken sandwich range from all English shops for the duration of the day (5th July).”

Their post added: “This is due to the following reasons: IT'S COMING HOME.”

They said that shops in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will still stock the food items, adding: “We know whose side you're on."

They ended their post saying: “Thank you for your understanding on this important matter.”

The range of ‘benched’ sandwiches - which are the Mexican Chicken Flatbread, Mexican Chicken Oval Bite and the Mexican Chicken Baguette ​- will be back in stock on Monday, July 6.

According to the Greggs website, the Mexican Chicken Oval Bite has 26 grams of protein and it’s described as being ‘packed with slices of Mexican style chicken breast, chipotle chilli sauce, spicy mayo and mixed leaves in a seeded roll – it really is the G.O.A.T.’.

An online description of the Mexican Chicken Flatbread says: “It’s time to set aside our differences in the great debate of "how to pronounce ‘chipotle’" because we can all agree on one thing: our Mexican Chicken Flatbread packs a punch and delivers on deliciousness.”

Among the people commenting on the Instagram post was The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) star Gemma Collins who said: “Don’t ever get rid of the tuna and cucumber it’s iconic and my fave x.” The brand replied to her comment using her nickname, writing: “Don’t worry GC, we’ve got you.”

Food content creator Oli Paterson, known by his social media handle El Burrito Monster, also commented: “Excellent banter Greggs.”

Paterson has 1.5 million Instagram followers and has become well-known for his creative takes on dishes.

Greggs also recently announced a brand-new iced matcha latte blueberry flavour, made with matcha green tea, semi-skimmed milk and luxurious blueberry flavour syrup. It costs £3.60 and contains 134 calories.

Food aside, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced earlier in the week that pubs will be able to stay open until 5am on Monday to show the game.

In February, England captain Harry Kane shared a few snippets about what he eats with his nearly 19 million Instagram followers. Pictures showed a slice of wholegrain toast with avocado and a fried egg, while another picture showed steak, sweet potato and a bowl of salad.

The players haven’t had time to get acclimatised for the game which is taking place 2,200 metres above sea level in Mexico.

Reports online previously suggested Thomas Tuchel’s side would be able to use Viagra to help combat the effects of altitude in Mexico City, but Tuchel later declared the rumour is “not true”.