Kick-off for England’s World Cup match with Mexico finally CONFIRMED after Fifa sparked chaos with switch plot

ENGLAND’S clash against Mexico will STAY as a 1am kick-off after complaints by BOTH teams. Fifa were planning to move the World Cup showdown to SIX HOURS earlier with severe thunderstorms scheduled to washout Mexico City. Earlier on Friday it appeared the match would be shunted forward from 1am UK time on Monday, to 7pm UK on Sunday due forecasted floods. But frantic crisis talks have erupted behind the scenes between Fifa, the FA, the Mexican federation, and both the Brazilian and Norwegian bosses – whose clash was also in talks to be moved. And now Fifa have made a U-turn and confirmed the original kick-off time remains. However they will continue to monitor the weather forecast throughout Saturday. READ MORE WORLD CUP England flew out to Mexico City on Friday night, two days before the game, so those plans will not change. But the Three Lions—alongside Mexico, Brazil, and Norway—would have faced a frantic, last-minute shakeup to their pre-match routines. Moving the England game forward six hours would have meant pushing Brazil‘s last-16 clash against Norway back due to scheduling clashes. The FA was understood to be livid as a move would also affect England fans who were not due to arrive in Mexico City Sunday lunchtime. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK World Cup 2026 - all the info IT'S A KNOCKOUT The knockout stages of the World Cup are hotting up. England believe football might finally be coming home after 60 years of hurt, with Harry Kane on fire. But the likes of France, Spain, Brazil and Argentina are all serious contenders to go all the way. Heavyweights Germany and the Netherlands have both been knocked out on penalties in the Round of 32. LATEST NEWS - All pubs that will open for England’s 1am World Cup clash - Mexican journalists planning to sabotage England’s preparations - England’s ‘spygate’ fears see chiefs make late change to schedule - The technology that kept Ronaldo’s World Cup dream alive - Ronaldo in tears as he wears Jota shirt in emotional tribute KEY INFO - World Cup 2026 full match schedule including kick-off times - World Cup 2026 full squads - World Cup 2026 rule changes - World Cup 2026 prize money VIDEO - Proper Football Daily: Get all the expert analysis each morning - Team Talk – Tactics Exposed: Dive into the tactical talking points TIPS AND BETTING If you click a link in this article, we will earn affiliate revenue. Under tournament safety rules, any lightning strike detected within eight miles of the stadium triggers an automatic 30-minute delay. Storms could cause a nightmare scenario that could have pushed the final whistle well past 4am UK time. England fans in the US exclusively told SunSport that the proposed move was “ruining” them. One fan said: “I’m beyond confused and frustrated. How on earth has it been changed two and a half days before kick-off? “I’m still in Atlanta now. I have to fly to Orlando now to get to Mexico City, as opposed to a direct flight, it would have been perfect. “It’s proper squeaky bum time, I feel like my whole career of travelling prepared me for this moment. “I’ve had to book another flight for tomorrow, which has cost me an extra £1,300. My original flight was £2,800, so it’s cost a total of £4,100.” How the fixture chaos unfolded SunSport first contacted the FA on Friday evening following reports the fixture was being rescheduled. At that point, the FA had not received any information about the kick-off time being changed. Within half an hour, the FA had been informed by Fifa that it was exploring the possibility of rescheduling the fixture. The reports broke as England’s players were finishing training at their Kansas City base. Asked as he was leaving the pitch about the possibility of the game being moved, winger Marcus Rashford said it was “not ideal” but the squad would deal with it.” Forward Morgan Rogers was similarly unfazed, saying: “It’s just another obstacle to overcome. We’ll be ready regardless of the time.” Later on Saturday, SunSport’s Martin Lipton got word that Fifa are poised to keep the original kick-off time after frantic talks with the federations of England, Brazil, Norway and Mexico. The English FA only found out about the potential rescheduling from journalists at a training session, after the story had originally broken in the Mexican press. Mexico manager Javier Aguirre slammed the proposal, fuming that he was left “quite angry” by the chaotic kick-off shake-up. Aguirre said: “That’s right, it’s like a kick in the gut, it changes everything, the plan. “It’s not that it’s completely ruined, but almost, because you have to swallow six hours of scheduled training. “Obviously, we will abide by what Fifa says. I don’t like it at all, nor do my players. Of course, the food, the nap, the sleep, the physiotherapy, everything, everything, it seems trivial, but it isn’t. “Today, 60 people are working here so that these 26 friends can go out on Sunday and win the game, I mean, it’s not a small thing. “The truth is that the change is quite important and I’ll tell you this, well, I can understand reasons and arguments, but they didn’t consult me and yes, I’m quite angry.” The original kick-off time for the England match had prompted the UK government to allow pubs, which would usually close around 11pm BST, to stay open until 5am in order to show the match. While England fans in the States hoped for a U-turn, fans in the UK will be disappointed to revert back to a 1am kick-off time. Brits who thought they had dodged a Monday morning office nightmare are now set to suffer a zombie-like walk into work all over again. And panicked parents will again be sweating over whether to let their kids stay up into the early hours of Monday morning just to catch the game. The threat of extreme weather has been a constant throughout the World Cup, which is being co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States. And obviously the threat to England’s match remains – with a high possibility kick-off could be DELAYED beyond the 1am kick-off if storms hit. The build-up to Sunday’s fixture has been dominated by talk about Mexico’s record at the Estadio Azteca and how England’s players will deal with the altitude. The arena sits 7,220ft (2,240m) above sea level, and Mexico have lost just twice in 89 matches at the iconic stadium. At that altitude, the Earth’s barometric pressure is lower, making the air thinner and meaning less oxygen is taken into the bloodstream with each breath. Meanwhile, England’s team hotel in Mexico has been surrounded by roadblocks to guard against pre-game disruption. Plus, the UK Foreign Office warned England fans of the dangers of pickpocketing by gangs outside the stadium, and dangerous crowd crushes. Four people died last week in a crush following huge street celebrations when Mexico beat Ecuador. Reports have suggested that local journalists will leak the location of the hotel for England ahead of the match.