The Mexico v England match is now NOT moving its’ kick-off time!!
On Friday night it was widely reported across the media that the England v Mexico match was set to be moved by six hours.
Originally scheduled to be played at 1am (UK time) on Monday morning, BBC Sport (and countless others) reported that it was going to be moved to 7pm (UK time) on Sunday. This would mean a move for England from 6pm to 12 noon local time on Sunday in Mexico.
The match to be played at the Azteca Stadium and BBC Sport saying that weather forecasts point to thunderstorms and heavy rain around that time and that: ‘Under tournament safety rules, any lightning strikes detected within eight miles of the stadium result in an automatic 30-minute delay to play. Fifa regulations for World Cup 2026 state it has the right to “cancel, reschedule or relocate” matches “at its sole discretion”.’
Moving the Mexico v England match was also going to mean the Brazil v Norway match would be moved, that game due to kick off at 9pm on Sunday night in UK time, so it would be moved a certain time later that night to avoid any chance of clashing with the England match.
BBC Sport stated that they: ‘….first contacted the FA at 19:00 BST on Friday following reports the fixture was being rescheduled. At that point, the FA had not received any information about the kick-off time being changed. Within half an hour, the FA had been informed by Fifa that it was exploring the possibility of rescheduling the fixture.’
Then very late on Friday night, the media then reported a Fifa u-turn and the original time is now going to stay in place. The match will kick off UK time of 1am on Monday morning, which is 6pm local time in Mexico City, rather than moving to 7pm on Sunday UK time (12 noon in Mexico).
BBC Sport explaining how it played out: “It was not until around 20:00 BST that the Football Association was informed that Fifa was indeed intending to alter the kick-off time. The FA asked for more time to look in to the plan and understand the reasoning. But that was just the start. Behind the scenes, both national associations were locked in talks with Fifa. Both the English and Mexican governing bodies were angry that the change was being proposed less than 48 hours before kick-off. Among the issues raised were the impact on fan travel, the logistics of changing the staging of such a huge event at short notice, and the impact on the teams’ preparations.’
The update then going on to say: ‘At about 21:30 BST, England boarded their chartered flight to Mexico City not knowing when the match would be. Sources close to the England camp told BBC Sport that lengthy discussions between all parties were continuing behind the scenes in an attempt to persuade Fifa not to amend the fixture. Just before 00:00 BST, sources told BBC Sport the kick-off time would remain as originally planned.’