Breaking: Mexico-England Sunday game rescheduled due to storm risk
This is a breaking story and will be updated as further information is available.
Mexico’s round of 16 match versus England, originally scheduled for 6 p.m. local time on Sunday in Mexico City, has been moved to noon due to thunderstorm warnings, according to reports from TUDN and Claro Sports.
Sunday’s match was set to kick off at 1 a.m. local time in England, but will now kick off at 7 p.m.
There is currently a 95% chance of thunderstorms in Mexico City on Sunday, according to The Weather Channel. Rain is most common in Mexico City from 4-8 p.m., but is less common in the early afternoon. The Weather Channel currently predicts a 33% chance of isolated thunderstorms at noon on Sunday with temperatures around 21 C (70 F). Lightning strikes detected within 8 miles of Mexico City Stadium will result in an automatic 30 minute delay.
Brazil and Norway’s round of 16 match is currently set for 2 p.m. Mexican central standard time (4 p.m. local time) in New Jersey. The time will now likely be moved as well to avoid a conflict with Mexico-England. If El Tri’s game goes to extra time or penalty kicks, it would infringe on the later match.
The schedule change will likely increase the temperature at kick off and could benefit the Mexican players, who are more adapted to the warm climate.
Mexico City Stadium also sits 2,240 meters above sea level. The thin air, to which Mexican players are more accustomed, could further tilt the stakes in Mexico’s favor. Mexico has lost just two of their last 89 matches at Estadio Azteca.
Asked at England’s training session on Friday about the possibility of the game being moved, winger Marcus Rashford told the BBC the change was “not ideal” but expressed confidence in the team’s ability to adapt.
“We have to be focused. We have to be ready for anything. I think it’s one of our strengths as a group … We are ready for whatever challenges get thrown at us. So obviously it’s not ideal but also it doesn’t really matter.”
Mexico’s round of 32 bout against Ecuador, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, was delayed one hour after an electrical storm in Mexico City.
Sunday will mark Mexico’s first round of 16 game since the 2018 World Cup, where it lost 2-0 to Brazil. Mexico has not advanced to the quarterfinals since they last hosted in 1986, which ties its best-ever result. El Tri’s 2-0 triumph over Ecuador was their first knockout stage win in 40 years.
Mexico and England have met nine times, with the Three Lions, as England’s team is known, holding the series lead with six wins, two losses and one draw. England advanced to the round of 16 after a comeback win over Congo on Wednesday, 2-1. They reached the quarterfinals in the 2022 World Cup and the semifinals in 2018.
The move is a relief to English fans, who will no longer have to stay awake until the early morning to watch the game. However, the change could plunge ticket holders, who have been planning their trips for weeks or longer, into chaos. Upward of 3,000 English fans are expected at Estadio Azteca, according to the BBC.
FIFA has yet to confirm a schedule change.
With reports from BBC
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