What time is it in Mexico for England vs Mexico? The answer stayed fixed at 1am on Monday UK time, after discussions about moving the World Cup last-16 tie six hours earlier. Rob Dorsett said: "England vs Mexico WILL kick off at 1am on Monday".
The possible shift had been raised in Mexico City, where the local organising committee includes local council, police and other emergency services. The scale of the venue and its surroundings made the timing sensitive: 85,000 people will be inside Azteca Stadium, while authorities estimated over one million people were in an area of around one square mile near the Angel of Independence monument.
FIFA and the 1pm discussion
By Friday, at 1pm in Kansas City and 7pm UK time, Mexican journalists were asking Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford how they felt about a possible six-hour change. Dorsett said: "The first the English FA knew about a possible six-hour shift to the kick-off time for Mexico vs England in the World Cup last 16 was when Mexican journalists started asking Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford how they felt about it". The final decision still sat with FIFA, whose hierarchy at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas would make the call.
Safety reviews after Tuesday
The talks followed safety reviews after the round-of-32 match against Ecuador in Mexico City on Tuesday, when four people died in the aftermath of that game. Specialist weather reports were studied during the meetings, and those reports suggested a very high risk for dangerous conditions when the original concerns were raised. The local organising committee pushed the idea of bringing the start forward by six hours, but both the English FA and the Mexican FA were reluctant to move it.
England vs Mexico stays fixed
The contradiction is plain: there were never any security concerns, yet safety concerns and storm reports still drove the discussion about changing the kick-off time. For supporters and broadcasters, the practical result is simple enough: the match remains set for 1am UK time, and any change still depends on FIFA rather than the two federations involved. What happened next is not a new time but a decision to leave the schedule where it was.
