Sir Keir Starmer intervened to prevent Fifa bringing forward kick-off at the Azteca amid concerns the change could give Mexico an unfair advantage over England.
The UK Government stepped in through diplomatic channels to oppose moving the match from 1am to 7pm BST because it would mean the Three Lions had less time to adapt to the altitude, it is understood.
Sir Keir directed the intervention after being alerted to the potential problem by the FA, which is understood to have contacted Downing Street before the game, as first reported by The Sun newspaper, which broke the story.
England overcame hostility, altitude and Jarell Quansah’s red card to edge a 3-2 blockbuster against Mexico on Monday morning UK time and set up a quarter-final clash with Norway.
The match was due to kick-off at 1am UK time (6pm local time), but with the threat of lightning in the area, the stadium activated its thunderstorm protocol and the game instead started at 2am UK time (7pm local time).
Outgoing prime minister Starmer intervened last week with emergency legislation to allow pubs to stay open late for the round-of-16 match.
It comes after US President Donald Trump confirmed he personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to “review” USA striker Folarin Balogun’s red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was controversially overturned on Sunday.
Balogun was sent off after VAR reviewed a challenge he made in the last-32 match against Bosnia, with the dismissal thought to have meant an automatic ban for Monday night’s last-16 tie against Belgium.
President Trump has now confirmed he personally lobbied Infantino at an event on Monday, telling the FIFA president that Balogun’s challenge “was not a foul” and adding that the referee “is a little bit suspect”.
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