For around six hours on Friday afternoon, the Football Association had no idea when England’s World Cup last-16 tie against Mexico would kick off. Less than 48 hours before the biggest game of the tournament, they discovered the news from the Mexican media: Fifa was planning to move the match from its original 1am BST Monday kick-off to 7pm BST Sunday.
The proposal left England manager Thomas Tuchel, his players and staff stunned — and the FA privately incensed at being left in the dark. Mexico’s manager called it “a kick in the stomach”.
“Fifa abandoned plan to move England-Mexico World Cup tie after FA discovered via media, leaving fans and players in limbo.”
Fifa had held talks with the English and Mexican football associations on Friday after proposing the game be moved from 18:00 local time on Sunday to 12:00 local (19:00 BST). Weather forecasts suggested thunderstorms could hit Mexico City at that time, though Fifa gave no explanation for its suggested change. The game had already been scheduled for the Azteca stadium, where four people died after Mexico’s last-32 victory over Ecuador on Tuesday — a match that kicked off at 19:00 local time.
Sources told BBC Sport that Fifa had been set to reschedule the fixture and confirm it in a statement, but news of the proposal angered both English and Mexican officials. The FA requested time to review the weather forecast in more detail. As talks went on, concerns over player preparation, fan travel and the logistics of moving such a huge game were discussed.
England forward Marcus Rashford insisted the squad would stay focused. “It has to be the same. We have to be ready for anything,” he said. “It’s not ideal but it doesn’t really matter.”
Fifa regulations for World Cup 2026 state it has the right to “cancel, reschedule or relocate” matches “at its sole discretion”. But after pushback from both associations, the governing body U-turned: the tie will kick off at 18:00 local time on Sunday, 1am BST on Monday, as originally planned. The match will be broadcast live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live and the BBC Sport website and app.
Reports in Mexico claimed the BBC was part of lobbying around the kick-off time, but a BBC spokesperson said the corporation was “not involved in these discussions”.
For England fans flying into Mexico on Sunday, flights were booked to arrive in time for the original kick-off. They would have missed it entirely if the game had been moved — a logistic nightmare averted only by a furious backlash from both sides of the pitch.