England vs Costa Rica delayed: Why has the international friendly been temporarily suspended in Orlando?

England are playing their final tune-up before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, taking on Costa Rica in an international friendly at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. However, weather conditions have forced a delay to kickoff.

“Today’s game against Costa Rica has been delayed due to weather conditions in Orlando,” England’s official national team account posted on Wednesday afternoon. “We’ll provide further updates as soon as we have them.”

The international friendly was originally scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. ET. However, heavy rain, the threat of thunderstorms and flood warnings in the area have prompted organizers to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of players and fans inside the stadium.

A few minutes after that initial statement, England provided an update on the situation: “Following a pitch inspection at the stadium, today’s match against Costa Rica will now kick off at 10pm (UK time) – subject to there being no further lightning strikes in the area.” That means kickoff has been pushed back by one hour from the original schedule. Instead of starting at 4 p.m. ET, the match is now set to begin at 5 p.m. ET.

What is the World Cup’s weather delay protocol?

Although England and Costa Rica are meeting in an international friendly rather than at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the match is subject to FIFA’s weather safety guidelines for dangerous conditions that may occur before or during games.

Given the time of year in which the World Cup will be played, officials expect weather-related disruptions to occur on more than one occasion across the United States between June 11 and July 19. As a result, FIFA will follow local safety protocols when dealing with these situations.

The first measure is the “8-Mile Rule,” which requires matches to be stopped immediately if lightning is detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium. Once that happens, a waiting period of at least 30 minutes begins and is reset every time a new lightning strike is detected within that area.

That can, of course, lead to significant delays. FIFA have not established a strict limit on how long a match can be delayed before it is suspended. However, if a game is ultimately called off, it would likely be rescheduled for the following day.

England’s upcoming challenges

After Wednesday’s match against Costa Rica, England will have exactly one week before opening their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. On June 17, they will face Croatia in Group L, where Ghana and Panama are also part of the field.