For five and a half hours on Friday, no one seemed to know when England's World Cup last-16 match against co-hosts Mexico would kick off. Reports emerged from Mexican journalists that Fifa was considering moving the game forward by six hours because of storms forecast around the Azteca at the original time. The match at the Azteca will now start, as originally planned, at 18:00 local time on Sunday – 01:00 BST on Monday.
The confusion began when Andres Vaca of radio station TUDN broke the story of the potential switch. The Football Association knew nothing about a schedule change when BBC Sport journalists began to raise questions. It was not until around 20:00 BST that the FA was informed Fifa was indeed intending to alter the kick-off time. Both the English and Mexican football associations were angry that the change was being proposed less than 48 hours before kick-off. Among the issues raised were the impact on fan travel, the logistics of changing the staging of such a huge event at short notice, and the impact on the teams' preparations.
“Fifa U-turns on moving England-Mexico kick-off after day of confusion and anger from both camps.”
Mexico manager Javier Aguirre went public to criticise a decision that was never confirmed. “The schedule change hits like a kick in the stomach,” he said. “We have to change the entire plan. I don’t like it at all.” The Mexican FA were understood to have been told by broadcasters on Friday lunchtime that the kick-off would be changed and were braced for confirmation from Fifa.
England's players faced the media in Kansas City. Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford had clearly been briefed on the news; they gave answers that showed calm and an insistence that any change would be manageable. Thomas Tuchel and his players flew to Mexico City from their base in Kansas City on Friday afternoon – the game would have kicked off less than 48 hours after their arrival.
The logistical challenge involved in moving forward the timings for a gargantuan matchday workforce – more than 50,000 people will be involved in different elements of the game's setup – is believed to have been a factor in Fifa's decision not to change. Commercial and broadcasting factors may also have come into play: Brazil and Norway kick off in New Jersey at 9pm BST on Sunday, meaning the prospect of a clash if Mexico and England went into extra time. The potential inconvenience to supporters, some of whom are due to fly into Mexico City early on matchday at significant expense, was also factored in.
The unfavourable weather forecast brings up the possibility of a delayed kick-off, similar to Mexico's last-32 win over Ecuador, which was held up by an hour after a vicious electric storm. The British government's decision to allow pubs to stay open for the game now comes into play. England face the co-host nation in the Azteca Stadium, which is 2,240m above sea level.