Weather in Mexico had prompted talks about moving England’s World Cup last-16 tie with Mexico, but the match stayed scheduled for a 1am kick-off on Monday, UK time. The discussion centred on storms, not security, and on how to move 85,000 people through Azteca Stadium without injury.
Rob Dorsett reported that England vs Mexico WILL kick off at 1am on Monday, after the threat of storms led to discussions about bringing it forward. He said the English FA first learned of a possible six-hour shift when Mexican journalists asked Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford about it.
Morgan Rogers and Kansas City
The possible six-hour shift was discussed on Friday at 1pm in Kansas City, which was 7pm UK time. The idea of moving the kick-off time forward was mooted by the local organising committee in Mexico City, while FIFA was the body expected to make the decision on any change.
Those talks came after four people died in the aftermath of the round-of-32 match against Ecuador in Mexico City on Tuesday. Officials were reviewing how to get teams, officials and supporters in and out of the fixture safely, with specialist weather reports being studied during the meetings.
Azteca Stadium and FIFA
Both the English FA and the Mexican FA were reluctant to move the kick-off time by six hours. The concern was not about a security threat; it was about safety in and around the stadium, where the organisers were weighing the weather reports against the movement of a very large crowd.
Rob Dorsett said the reports were very detailed and very reliable, adding: “These are not the sort of weather reports we see in the UK.” He also said the authorities had been giving specific warnings that predicted where and when storms would hit within five-minute windows.
That left the match on the original schedule and put the focus back on the final operational call. If FIFA changes the time, the impact will fall first on the people moving through Azteca Stadium, and then on the teams preparing for a different start in Mexico City.
