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Bad news for England fans staying up to watch 1am Mexico World Cup clash
Home>News>Sport
Updated 10:05 5 Jul 2026 GMT+1Published 09:45 5 Jul 2026 GMT+1

Bad news for England fans staying up to watch 1am Mexico World Cup clash

England fans need to brace themselves for a long night if they're watching the Mexico game

Daniel Murphy

Daniel Murphy

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What's your strategy? Straight through no brew, or are you planning some tactical naps?

That'll be a debate raging up and down the country on Sunday, July 5, ahead of England's epic World Cup last 16 encounter with Mexico.

While Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions are dealing with the altitude of Mexico City, locals setting off fireworks outside their hotel and Mexico's remarkable record at the Azteca, millions of fans back home have a long night in store.

That's because the game - though FIFA did try and bring it six hours earlier at the last minute - will kick off at 6pm in the Mexican capital, which translates to 1am Monday morning in the United Kingdom.

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However, there is an increasingly likely possibility that the game will have to kick off even later than that, or be delayed once its underway, leaving millions of Brits in store for a sleepless night ahead of work and school.

Thunderstorms forecast for Mexico City on Sunday

Mexico's last game at the Azteca was delayed due to rain (Rodrigo Oropeza / AFP via Getty Images)
Mexico's last game at the Azteca was delayed due to rain (Rodrigo Oropeza / AFP via Getty Images)

While it's been a World Cup of stars performing and underdogs surprising, it's also been one defined by extreme weather conditions across North America.

From scorching heat and the introduction of hydration breaks, to thunderous storms and delayed games.

England have managed to avoid weather delays so far in the World Cup - though their pre-tournament friendly vs Costa Rica was delayed an hour - but their luck may be about to run out in Mexico.

Remarkable torrents of rain lashed down in Mexico City on Saturday evening, at around the same time the game is scheduled for on Sunday.

Mexico's National Meteorological Service has forecast an 80 per cent chance of thunderstorms in the two hours leading to the scheduled kick-off time.

They're not the only ones.

The Weather Channel has predicted thunderstorms with a 96 per cent chance of rainfall and the Met Office has also predicted a thunderstorm for 6pm.

Due to protocols during the World Cup, a game is delayed half an hour if lightning or thunder is detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium.

If any strikes occur during the 30 minutes, then the clock restarts. This can lead to games being severely delayed before they kick off or even halted once they have.

Mexico's last 32 tie with Ecuador on July 1 was delayed an hour due to heavy rainfall.

As a result, there's a very strong chance England's versus Mexico could be delayed beyond its scheduled 1am start time.

England vs Mexicio could run until 5am... or even beyond

Thomas Tuchel's side trained in Mexico City on Saturday (Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel's side trained in Mexico City on Saturday (Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Thankfully, the government has already given pubs across the land permission to open until 5am so they can show the match, but any significant delays could see the game run perilously close to that deadline.

Should it kick off at 1am, the 90 minutes would come to an end at around 3am. However, should the game go to extra-time or even a cursèd penalty shoot-out, it would creep up to 4am.

If the game is delayed by an hour, then there's a distinct possibility it could run very close to the 5am closing time and leave pubs in a situation where they have to kick punters out while the game is still on.

The rain is forecast to slack off after 7pm but, in theory, there is no limit to weather delays and the game could run even beyond 5am in a worst case scenario.

The potential delay is obviously further bad news as it gives fans even less time to get some shut-eye in before they have to be back up again for work or school.

The Daily Mail reports 13 million people are expected to stay up for the game which, though many will have booked Monday off work, will leave a significant chunk of the workforce feeling very unproductive on Monday morning.




Featured Image Credit: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Topics: Weather, World Cup, Football, Sport

Daniel Murphy
Daniel Murphy

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