England vs Mexico kick-off DELAYED as FIFA issue statement | OneFootball

Mexico City has been hit by lightning and thunderstorms ahead of World Cup clash

Kick-off time between England and Mexico has been delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms.

The World Cup round-of-16 match at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca was initially scheduled to kick off at 6pm local time and 1am Monday morning in the UK.

But a decision has now been made to delay the start of the game by an hour, meaning the game will go ahead at 7pm in Mexico City and 2am in the UK due to weather disruption.

The decision came after continued thunder, lightning and heavy rainfall at the stadium in the hours leading up to the game.

A statement from FIFA read: “Due to adverse weather conditions in Mexico City, including risk caused by lightning in the vicinity of the stadium, the kick-off of the World Cup 2026 round of 16 match between Mexico and England has been delayed to 19.00 local time (21:00 EDT).

“The safety and security of all individuals is Fifa’s priority. We thank all fans for their understanding and cooperation.”

The delay was communicated on the big screen at the Azteca at 5:12pm local time, and met with boos.

Thunder began at 2:30pm local time on Sunday afternoon and heavy rainfall began at 2:47pm.

Regular intermissions of thunder and lightning prolonged the poor weather, with FIFA eventually deciding that kick-off needed to be pushed back an hour to allow the storm to clear.

There had been detailed discussions between FIFA, local authorities and the English and Mexican Football Associations on Friday over the possibility of bringing the match forward six hours to a 12pm kick off local time.

However, the decision was made to keep the kick off game the same — until delays on the day knocked it back an hour.

The decision will impacts pubs in England and Wales which have been granted special late-night licences to serve alcohol until 5am BST in order to cater for fans watching the game.

The match could extend longer than 90 minutes if it heads to extra time or a penalty shootout.