Rogers believes earlier start ‘better’ for England against Mexico with Three Lions ‘ready’ | OneFootball

England playmaker Morgan Rogers feels the World Cup round of 16 game against Mexico being brought forward is “better” for the side, who are “ready” regardless.

The Three Lions were set to play at 6pm local time on Sunday (1:00 BST, Monday) in the next round of the World Cup. But the threat of storms is set to bring the game forward to noon (19:00 BST).

England are evidently prepared in any eventuality, with playmaker Rogers suggesting the earlier time may be better for the side.

“I wouldn’t say an issue. I don’t think it really effects us, I think we’ll be ready regardless of the time. Earlier probably the better because you want to play it,” he said on Sky Sports.

“Enough about thinking about what’s going to happen, you just want to play the game. It’s always the way with the build up, you always want to just play the game, so if it’s earlier it will probably help us, just getting that adrenaline out there and getting playing, getting going.

“We’re looking forward to it, whatever the time is and we’ll be ready.”

Marcus Rashford, who’s played more minutes than Rogers in the 2026 World Cup, also feels England will have no issues.

He said: “It doesn’t matter, it’s a game of football at the end of the day and it might be a small adjustment that we need to make, but in the end it doesn’t change our outlook on the game and what we’re trying to do.

“Whatever happens, however the game plays out, we’re going to try to come out on top.”

Kick-off change regulations

The reason for the likely kick-off change is the threat of thunderstorms in the Mexico City area on Sunday.

Regulations state that if there’s lightning detected in an eight-mile radius of a host stadium during a game, it must be delayed by 30 minutes.

The threat of that happening is evidently real, or the game would not be being moved.

France and Iraq spent around two hours off the field during their group stage game for the same reasons.

The definitive time change is set to be announced soon, but it looks for all money like England will indeed be playing a few hours earlier than expected – ideal for fans back home, who won’t have to stay up late to catch the action.