Mexico vs England Delayed an Hour as Storm Hits Azteca
Days after Fifa reversed a plan to move this match over weather concerns, the weather showed up anyway.
The Mexico vs England World Cup Round of 16 match was delayed by an hour on Sunday after a thunderstorm swept through Estadio Azteca, pushing kickoff from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
How the Delay Unfolded
A shelter-in-place order was called roughly an hour before the scheduled kickoff, with fans barred from entering the 80,000-seat stadium at 3 p.m. due to heavy rain, thunder and lightning.
Fifa's official statement cited "adverse weather conditions in Mexico City, including risk caused by lightning in the vicinity of the stadium," confirming the delay to 7 p.m. local time, or 2 a.m. BST.
The announcement was met with loud boos from fans already inside the stadium.
Both teams had arrived and were on the pitch warming up by 6:15 p.m., despite the delayed start.
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The Rules Behind the Delay
Fifa's electrical storm protocol requires play to stop if lightning is detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium, with a mandatory 30-minute lightning-free window before the match can begin or restart.
Every new lightning strike within that radius resets the 30-minute countdown to zero, meaning a delay could theoretically extend well beyond the initial hour if storms persisted.
This marked the second time weather disrupted a Mexico match at this tournament — their Round of 32 win over Ecuador the previous Tuesday was also delayed by an hour due to similar conditions.
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The Irony Nobody Missed
Just days earlier, Fifa had proposed moving Sunday's kickoff six hours earlier, to midday, specifically to avoid the kind of afternoon thunderstorm risk that ultimately delayed the match anyway.
Both the English and Mexican football associations pushed back hard against that proposal, and Fifa ultimately reversed course, keeping the original evening kickoff time.
Mexico manager Javier Aguirre had said at the time that the proposed change felt like "a kick in the gut" given how little notice his team would have had to adjust.
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What It Meant for Fans and Families
England manager Thomas Tuchel had already appealed to parents across the UK to let children stay up for the match, telling them to "write an excuse for school" given the fixture's importance.
The additional hour-long delay pushed the match even later into the early hours of Monday morning in the UK, meaning any guardians who had agreed to a late bedtime faced an even longer wait.
Should the match have gone to extra time and penalties, it wouldn't have concluded until well past 4 a.m. UK time.
Why Altitude Made This Even Harder for England
Estadio Azteca sits at 7,220 feet (2,240 meters) above sea level, a factor England has had almost no time to adjust to physically.
Tuchel acknowledged the altitude as "a big disadvantage" his side simply cannot overcome in a matter of days, while saying the team has "the ideal platform" to prove it can handle adversity regardless.
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World News Correspondent
Rachel Hayes reports on international affairs, geopolitics, and breaking world news. Based in London, she covers stories shaping the UK and global political landscape.
