Mexico and England were originally scheduled to kick off their Round of 16 clash on Sunday, July 5th, at 8:00 PM ET at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. However, a sudden pregame delay has left fans waiting for answers ahead of one of the most anticipated matches of the 2026 World Cup.
The postponement has been caused by severe weather conditions around the stadium. Heavy rainfall, combined with a significant threat of lightning and electrical activity, has forced officials to push back the start of the match.
As of now, the updated kickoff time for Mexico vs England has been moved one hour from the original schedule, meaning the match will now begin at 9:00 PM ET, marking the final World Cup game to be played at the Estadio Azteca.
With the lightning storm protocol currently off, both sides have taken the field for their pregame warmups, meaning that, with the rain slowing down, the game is expected to begin in no time.
Mexico City Stadium. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
How plans to move the game fell apart
The threat of bad weather was not a surprise. The National Meteorological Service had already forecast a lightning storm in the area well ahead of kickoff, putting the match’s original schedule in doubt from early on.
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In response, authorities explored the idea of moving the game to noon local time, before the day’s first match between Norway and Brazil. However, according to L’Equipe, both national federations pushed back against the proposed change, expressing their discomfort with altering their preparation routines on such short notice.
After pressure from both federations, FIFA ultimately decided to keep the original evening slot despite being fully aware of the forecast. That call has now backfired, with the match delayed regardless after the weather arrived exactly as predicted.
