The kick-off time of England’s last-16 clash with Mexico at the World Cup 2026 on Sunday will stay the same after a period of chaos on Friday where the match seemed likely to be brought forward by six hours in order to avoid potential storms in Mexico City,
Media in Mexico, had initially suggested the game, which is scheduled to kick off at 1am BST on Monday morning (6pm local time on Sunday) would instead start at 7pm BST (12pm local) due to the risk of storms and flooding.
However, anger from the English and Mexican FAs, when they learned of the proposed change without being consulted first, means Fifa have backtracked on the proposal and stuck with the original time.
Fifa is yet to release any sort of official statement but sources close to the governing body told The Independent that after further discussions, the Mexico v England game will kick off as scheduled at 6pm local time on Sunday and that no decision was ever made to reschedule the start time. It will continue to monitor the situation, including the weather.
But what does the Mexico City weather forecast currently tell us for the weekend ahead?
What is the current forecast for the match?
With the match set to kick off at 6pm local time, the BBC details that temperatures will be around 17C with a 59% chance of rain.
However, that percentage increases to 71% by 7pm, when a potential thunderstorm could impact the match and produce a risk of flooding in the area of the Azteca stadium, around 10 miles south of the city centre.
Weather website AccuWeather has a similar forecast: 61% chance of rain around kick-off, though they have the risk decreasing to 44% an hour later.
Their brief summary for Sunday reads: “Cloudy with occasional rain and a thunderstorm later in the afternoon.”
The risk of rain increases beyond 50% at 3pm local time, three hours before kick-off and when thousands of fans would be descending on the 80,000-seater stadium. Within this three-hour window, the chances of a thunderstorm are estimated around the 80% mark.
What is the forecast for earlier on Sunday?
In contrast, the BBC forecasts that at midday local time – when the prospective new kick-off time was – temperatures would be 4C warmer at 21C but the risk of rain lower at 29%.
The risk of a downpour increases steadily as the afternoon progresses. AccuWeather has a similar reading.
It should also be noted that the Estadio Azteca, unlike many stadiums being used at the World Cup, does not have a roof which covers the whole pitch. Instead, their canopy covers about 80% of all the seats.
What are the weather rules?
Under tournament safety rules, any lightning strikes detected within eight miles of the stadium result in an automatic 30-minute delay to play, something that affected France’s group-stage clash with Iraq.
More significantly, Mexico’s last game at the Azteca, against Ecuador on Tuesday, was delayed by one hour due to dangerous lightning activity in the vicinity. A similar scenario is very possible on Sunday evening.
The tournament safety rules were set in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Any strike within eight miles starts a countdown of 30 minutes, which resets every time another lightning strike happens.
If half an hour has passed, the players would re-enter the fray with a 15-minute warm-up before continuing the game.
England’s friendly with Costa Rica last month in Orlando was delayed by one hour due to heavy rain and the prospect of lightning. Six matches at last year’s Fifa Club World Cup in the USA were halted due to electrical storms.
Meanwhile, Fifa regulations for the tournament state it has the right to “cancel, reschedule or relocate” matches “at its sole discretion”. Discussions are ongoing on Saturday.
