England's World Cup last-16 tie with Mexico is still set for a 1am kick-off on Monday, UK time. The threat of storms had led to discussions about the match being brought forward.

What happened?

The English FA first learned about a possible six-hour shift to the kick-off time when Mexican journalists asked Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford about it. This was at 1pm, on the side of England's training pitch in Kansas City on Friday, 7pm UK time. Frantic phone calls and meetings followed, and what became clear was that the idea of moving the kick-off time forward was mooted by the local organising committee in Mexico City.

Why it matters for England

Four people died in the aftermath of the round-of-32 match against Ecuador there on Tuesday, and so it was inevitable there would be a full review of safety. Like in England, the local organising committee in Mexico City involves local council, police and other emergency services. They estimate that there were over one million people in an area of around one square mile, close to the famous Angel of Independence monument in the centre of the city.

What comes next?

The meetings continued as specialist weather reports were studied - and, importantly, those reports shifted slightly. These are not the sort of weather reports we see in the UK. They are very detailed and very reliable, with huge resources in Mexico and the US pumped into sophisticated storm monitoring systems. Throughout our time in the US, and now Mexico, we have seen the authorities give specific warnings, predicting accurately where and when storms will hit within five-minute windows. Last result: England 4-2 Croatia (2026-06-17). Recent form: | Date | Result | | --- | --- | | 2026-06-17 | England 4-2 Croatia | | 2026-06-13 | England 1-2 Portugal | | 2026-06-09 | England 3-1 Iran | | 2026-06-05 | England 0-1 USA | Next fixture: vs Spain (at home, 2026-09-26). The English and Mexican FAs were reluctant to move the kick-off time by six hours. Conspiracy theories suggesting the Mexican FA was deliberately trying to influence a change, to make things harder for the England team, were fantastical. And so the meetings started. For several hours, there was a dearth of information coming from official sources, and so there was limbo - with rumour and unsubstantiated reports aplenty, mostly coming out of Mexico. Ultimately, it would always be FIFA's decision about whether there would be any changes to the kick-off time, and that decision would be made by the FIFA hierarchy based at the International Broadcast Centre in Dallas. But the key factor influencing the decision is the safety of the players, officials, and supporters. So the authorities will continue to monitor the weather situation and make a decision based on the latest information. The England team will be preparing for the match as usual, and the fans will be eagerly waiting for the kick-off, whenever it may be.