England vs Mexico postponed because of bad weather; new game time announced
England was all set to take on Mexico in the World Cup round of 16 at 1am BST, but now the match is going to be delayed. There’s been a lot of talk over the past few days about whether the game would be moved earlier or later because of bad weather. At first, FIFA considered moving the kick-off six hours earlier to avoid storms, but it was decided the start time would stay as planned.
On the day of the game, heavy rain and possible lightning made people think the match might be delayed. Different new start times were suggested, and now it’s official—the game will start an hour later than planned. The new kick-off is 7pm local time, which is 2am BST.
This is just another twist in the story for England before the big match. There were even worries that Mexican fans might try to disturb the English team’s hotel overnight so the players wouldn’t get their full eight hours of sleep. Reports said Mexico fans might use instruments, speakers, and vehicles to make noise outside the hotel.
Besides all the distractions, there’s also concern about how England’s coach Thomas Tuchel’s team will handle the high altitude at Azteca Stadium. Some experts think it will be tough for them. But this game also feels like a chance for England to make history by becoming only the third team to beat Mexico at the Azteca since 1966, and to get revenge for their loss to Argentina there in 1986, when Maradona starred. Winning after all this would give a big boost to England’s confidence and belief that they could win their first World Cup in 60 years.
Fans in the UK who were planning to watch the match at 1am are now waiting longer. On social media, supporters have been sharing their thoughts about the delay. One fan joked: “Set your alarms for 1:45am, keep notifications loud, and have Alexa ready for any updates.”
Some people were frustrated and blamed the football associations for not moving the game earlier, as they thought FIFA had suggested. One fan said, “If only the teams had listened to FIFA about changing the kick-off time.” Others felt it was just too late to watch the match and said things like, “Goodnight, I’ll catch the score in the morning.”