England v Mexico kick-off time at World Cup set to be brought forward due to storm risk

The kick-off time of England’s last-16 clash with Mexico at the World Cup 2026 looks set to be brought forward by six hours in order to avoid potential storms in Mexico City.

Media in Mexico, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, have suggested the game, which is scheduled to kick off at 1am BST on Monday morning (6pm local time on Sunday) will now start at 7pm BST (12pm local) instead. The BBC are also reporting that they understand the game has been brought forward.

That is because of a significant risk of storms in the area when the match is currently scheduled and Mexico already saw their last-32 match against Ecuador earlier this week delayed due to rain.

Under tournament safety rules, any lightning strikes detected within eight miles of the stadium result in an automatic 30-minute delay to play, something that affected France’s group-stage clash with Iraq.

Meanwhile Fifa regulations for the tournament state it has the right to “cancel, reschedule or relocate” matches “at its sole discretion”.

Fifa is yet to confirm or deny that the kick-off time has been moved but an earlier start would suit fans at home in England, with 7pm being much more palatable than the wee small hours.

Outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has relaxed licensing laws to allow pubs in the UK to stay open until 5am and it is unclear how a change would affect that decision.

There is also an ongoing debate over whether children should be allowed to start school later on Monday morning in order to watch the match.

A 7pm BST start could pose problems for Fifa however, with the last-16 clash between Brazil and Norway scheduled to start at 9pm BST. If the England match went to extra time, or even if there was a particularly large amount of injury time, then the two games could overlap – something Fifa avoids at World Cups outside of the final round of pool matches.

However, suggestions are that Fifa would move the kick-off of Brazil v Norway back, in order to avoid any potential clash.