Read 3 minutesUpdated: 6 July 2026 05:50 AM IST
The round of 16 match between England and Mexico was delayed by an hour due to inclement weather on Sunday. The game was pushed to 7 pm local time from its scheduled 6 pm local time which was 6.30 am IST.
FIFA had tentatively moved Sunday’s kickoff to noon but ultimately stuck to the original schedule.
Last week, there were delays due to storms in the Mexico City stadium area Round of 32 between Mexico and EcuadorAccording to a report by the Associated Press news agency, the storm started in the area two hours before the start of the knockout match.
It is the third major weather disruption of the World Cup, following a two-hour delay at half-time of the France-Iraq group stage match in Philadelphia on June 22.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, England manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he has been suffering from headaches and sleeping problems while adjusting to the altitude.
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager said the players could feel the effects in the early stages of their first training session, but they gradually adapted.
“I had a bit of a headache all day, for example. I didn’t sleep like the previous days, but nothing you can’t handle and you can’t adapt. The players felt it in the first minutes of the training session and the longer it goes on, the better they can cope,” Tuchel told the pre-match press conference.
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“The height: it is what it is. The home crowd: it is what it is. We have the spirit, we have the commitment, we have the pure will to overcome these things and the glue in the team. We know what’s coming. But that’s the beauty of it,” he added.
Tuchel said the opening 15-20 minutes of Sunday’s game will be decisive and if England negotiate well during that period they will be in a “good place”.
“It’s no coincidence that Mexico start their matches strong and aggressive because the first 15 to 20 minutes will probably be tough. Once we get over that, I think we’re in a good place.”
“The players are kind of adapted – you know the situation. We’ll take care of what we have to take care of. We need a strong performance and I think we’ll have one,” Tuchel said.