BREAKING England vs Mexico kick-off time reverted as FIFA make U-turn after indignant response
England’s World Cup round of 16 match against Mexico reportedly came close to having its kick-off time changed before FIFA ultimately decided not to move at all
England will still face Mexico at 1am BST
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) have confirmed that England vs Mexico will still kick off at 1am BST, despite claims that FIFA were bringing the World Cup round of 16 tie forward by six hours.
Talks were said to be taking place on Friday between football’s governing body, the Football Association, and the FMF. At one stage, it appeared inevitable that the game would be brought forward by six hours to midday local time (7pm BST) due to the widespread reporting.
However, there is no scheduled alteration now. Forecasts for heavy rain and thunderstorms appeared to be reasons enough to change.
Mexico, though, pushed back against any move. Their head coach, Javier Aguirre, spoke to Mexican network Radio Formula about the speculation, saying: “It’s like a kick in the stomach.
“Now we have to change the entire work plan. I’m not saying it goes completely out the window – but almost, because you’re losing six hours that were already scheduled.
“I don’t like it at all, but obviously we’ll comply with what FIFA says. Neither my players nor I like it. This changes everything because you have to reschedule everything and wake up earlier. I don’t like the idea at all.”
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Aguirre added: “Nobody asked me. At 6pm we were perfectly fine. We’ve performed very well at that time. It’s an ideal kick-off, and I love it because we play well then.
“Noon is not a common time for us. I don’t think we’ve played at 12pm in 40 years. This team has never played at that hour under me.
“I don’t agree with it, and nobody asked me, but FIFA decides, and I comply. “I don’t see any advantage, none at all. Ever since the match against Ecuador ended, we knew we were playing at 6pm, and now this really hits us hard.”
Marcus Rashford, meanwhile, downplayed the potential impact of a change. He said: “I think for us it’s the same, how we prepare for the game. It has to be the same, we have to be focused, we have to be ready for anything.
“I think it’s one strength of the group, everyone included, the players, the staff, we’re ready for whatever challenges get thrown at us. Obviously it’s not ideal, but also it doesn’t matter.”
Morgan Rogers shared a similar stance on the possible change. He said: “It’s just another obstacle to overcome. We’ll be ready regardless of the time.”
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