The usual crush to reach Wembley stadium for a football match is likely to develop into chaos tomorrow night as the London Underground network is crippled by a 72-hour strike.

Last-ditch talks to avoid industrial action were being held today between members of the RMT transport union and Tubelines, a maintenance company, but the Piccadilly, Jubilee and Northern lines are all expected to be severely disrupted by the walkout.

From midday tomorrow, 1,000 union members are set to desert their posts in a dispute over pay and conditions, leaving three lines facing closure with overcrowding and delays likely to hit the rest of the network.

Commuters will struggle to get home from work on Wednesday evening, and the most serious disruptions will hit around 90,000 football fans as they make their way to and from the match between England and the Czech Republic at Wembley, north London.

The rebuilt national stadium has been criticised for its transport links, which regularly see delays of up to an hour for supporters leaving the area after games, even when the Underground is running normally.

Transport for London (TfL) said today that, even if the strike goes ahead, they may be able to run a limited service on the three affected lines, however a spokeswoman advised commuters to check for the latest information before travelling.

“We will do our best to run a service to allow people to get to the football, but leave extra time for your journeys and keep an eye out for further information,” she said.

Even if the Jubilee Line is hit by strikes, the Football Association remained confident that fans would be able to travel to the game using the Metropolitan Line to Wembley Park, the Bakerloo Line to Wembley Central or London Overground or Chiltern Railways services.

The strike will continue until Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people facing major delays and the prospect of lengthy queues at bus stops around London as they try to move around the capital.

TfL say they will try to keep the Underground network running as smoothly as possible throughout the strike, but they anticipate major delays or outright closure of stations.

If there is no breakthrough in today’s talks, Tube passengers could face further disruption at the beginning of next month as the RMT has called a second 72-hour strike starting on September 3.

A spokesman for the Mayor of London’s office said that Boris Johnson had not tried to prevent the strike or broker talks because the dispute was between two independent parties.

Today, the Mayor said: “I think it’s a wholly unnecessary dispute. I hope they won’t go on strike.

“I want Tubelines and the RMT to resolve this so we don’t have the London travelling public held to ransom for several days over a relatively trivial dispute.”

It was also announced today that Mr Johnson is to continue to chair the TfL board. He had been due to hand over the role to Tim Parker this September, but has decided to carry on himself after Mr Parker announced his resignation this morning.

“Over the last few weeks, however, it has become increasingly apparent to both of us that the nature of the decisions that need to be taken are highly political and there is no substitute for me, as the directly elected Mayor, being in charge. There are limits, therefore, to what can be delegated,” Mr Johnson said.

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