England’s World Cup round-of-16 game against Mexico will kick off at its planned time, despite discussions over bringing it forward.
Sources briefed on the process told The Athletic that FIFA had pointed to concerns over possible weather disruption, including flooding, sparking discussions on Friday over whether to shift the game at the Estadio Azteca away from its scheduled 6pm local time (8pm ET; Monday 1am BST) start.
However, sources confirmed later on Friday the game will go ahead as originally planned, with Brazil’s last-16 match against Norway — which could also have been shifted as a result — also set to stay at its scheduled kick-off time of 4pm ET/9pm BST at MetLife Stadium.
The Mexican Football Federation and Brazilian Football Federation previously confirmed to The Athletic that talks around shifting the matches were taking place.
There were reports in the Mexican press that the British Broadcasting Corporation, which is scheduled to show the game in the UK, was involved in the talks. However, the BBC denied this. “The BBC were not involved in these discussions,” it said.
Extreme weather had already impacted one match in Mexico City during this World Cup. Kick off in Mexico’s round-of-32 tie against Ecuador was pushed back by an hour due to thunder and lightning in the surrounding area. Aaron Mentkowski — The Athletic’s weather expert who is the chief meteorologist at WKBW, the ABC affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y. — said on Friday afternoon that the forecast looks like a typical Mexico City summer day.
How big of a test do England face in the Azteca?
Mark Critchley
Other games at the tournament have been threatened by severe weather but have not been moved by organizers FIFA, with France’s group-stage match with Iraq delayed mid-game by more than two hours (131 minutes) after thunderstorms hit the wider Philadelphia area.
France’s last-16 meeting with Paraguay on Saturday, again at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, could see temperatures reach as high as 100F at kick-off but, as yet, is set to go ahead as planned.
FIFA’s 2026 World Cup regulations state that world football’s governing body “has the right to cancel, reschedule or relocate one or more matches (or the entire FIFA World Cup 26) for any reason at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure or due to health, safety or security concerns.”
The Athletic has contacted FIFA, the English FA and the Norwegian FA for comment.
The English FA only found out about the potential rescheduling from journalists at a training session, after the story had originally broken in the Mexican press early on Friday afternoon.
The scheduled kick-off time for the England match had prompted the UK government to allow pubs, which would usually close around 11pm BST, to stay open until 5am in order to show the match.
Meanwhile, England’s team hotel in Mexico is expected to have roadblocks around its perimeter to guard against pre-game disruption.
The move to ramp up measures around where England will stay comes after Ecuador’s time in the capital city ahead of their round-of-32 defeat by Mexico was interrupted by fans setting off fireworks, chanting and revving vehicle engines outside their hotel throughout the evening.
Sunday’s Mexico City forecast
By meteorologist and weather expert Aaron Mentkowski
As of now, the forecast looks like a typical summer day in Mexico City.
July is the rainy season in Mexico City, and afternoon showers and thundershowers should be expected. This Sunday, there is an 80 percent chance for afternoon showers and thundershowers, a very common occurrence this time of year. Don’t expect much of a change in the forecast over the next 48 hours.
At 12pm, which sources say might be the new start time, expect mostly cloudy skies with a temperature of 73F (23C). The chance for rain will increase as the afternoon moves along. At 6pm, there is a 60 percent chance for showers and thundershowers with a temperature of 65F (18C).
Interestingly, Miami, Philadelphia, and Kansas City are all sites that held matches in which the weather forecast indicated thunderstorms, and those games were not rescheduled in advance.
Also, Saturday’s match in Philadelphia is under an Extreme Heat Warning with an additional concern for thunderstorms during the tilt, and it is still scheduled to start at 5pm.
How Mexico reacted
As news broke of the discussions being held, Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre spoke to Radio Formula. “I don’t like this at all,” he said, adding that no-one consulted him about the potential change.
Aguirre also said that Mexico has been playing very well in the evenings, and that it was an ideal game time for his team.
The coach added that he has two players who have knocks and now their recovery is more complicated: “No one asked for my opinion, but I don’t like this. FIFA is the boss here. It’s a very significant change. I’m very p—ed off.”
How has all this affected England?
Analysis by England correspondent Jack Pitt-Brooke
England were already under logistical pressure on Friday when they started their last training session before flying down to Mexico City from their base in Kansas City.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel and the team had been facing questions all week about how they would handle the challenge posed by the altitude at the Estadio Azteca. Tuchel had admitted that the best option was either to arrive in Mexico City 10 days before, or last minute, neither of which were feasible for this game. So instead they decided to fly out on Friday and land roughly 48 hours before the scheduled kick-off, giving them time to do open training and their press conference on the Saturday before the game on Sunday evening. Then they would fly back to their base.
The news that started to emerge on Friday lunchtime that the kick-off time might be moved back six hours stunned FA staff, some of whom only found out about the suggestion through the media. It would have meant a radical change to their pre-game preparations at short notice and, worst of all, they did not even have total clarity on it when they boarded their flight from Kansas City to Mexico City.
Traditionally in this tournament, England have arrived at stadiums roughly two and a half hours before kick-off. But for their last-32 game in Atlanta against DR Congo, they left especially early to beat the Atlanta traffic and ended up arriving more than three hours before kick-off, before 9am. Given the likely traffic scenario in Mexico City on Sunday, a midday kick-off would mean being on the road soon after breakfast, and a serious change to the meal plans for the day.
But the England management were trying to live by the U.S. Army code of ‘VUCA’: volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity when it came to preparation. England knew long before the tournament that there would be issues like this. Tuchel’s assistant Anthony Barry had explained months ago that he thought the World Cup would ultimately be won by the team that adopted what he called a “‘bring it on’ mentality” when it came to logistical issues like this. “The team that wins the World Cup,” Barry said, “will be a team that’s ready to suffer, and overcome obstacles together.”
Not only were the England team in the dark, but England fans were in a difficult position, too. There were plenty who were due to fly into Mexico City on Sunday from holiday resorts like Cancun or Tulum, or from Atlanta, where they had watched the DR Congo game, who were suddenly put in a difficult position.
Should they spend a lot of money to book new flights to arrive on Saturday? Or should they wait until the change was confirmed, by which point rebooking flights (and possibly accommodation) would be more expensive?
The Athletic spoke to one, Oliver Fisher, who had paid £450 to book a new flight from Cancun — and another £85 for a new hotel room — to arrive on Saturday. Fans booking new flights from Atlanta were left having to pay more than double that to fly in via Orlando or Raleigh.