Skelmersdale United · FA Cup · Midfielder · #0 · England · 0 yrs
The kickoff for the 2026 World Cup clash between Mexico and England has been delayed, with a new time set for the game to officially begin. Mexico and England were originally scheduled to kick off their Round of 16 clash on Sunday, July 5th, at 8:00 PM ET at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. However, a sudden pregame delay has left fans waiting for answers ahead of one of the most anticipated matches of the 2026 World Cup. The postponement has been caused by severe weather conditions around the stadium. Heavy rainfall, combined with a significant threat of lightning and electrical activity, has forced officials to push back the start of the match. As of now, the updated kickoff time for Mexico vs England has been moved one hour from the original schedule, meaning the match will now begin at 9:00 PM ET, marking the final World Cup game to be played at the Estadio Azteca. With the lightning storm protocol currently off, both sides have taken the field for their pregame warmups, meaning that, with the rain slowing down, the game is expected to begin in no time. Mexico City Stadium. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) How plans to move the game fell apart The threat of bad weather was not a surprise. The National Meteorological Service had already forecast a lightning storm in the area well ahead of kickoff, putting the match’s original schedule in doubt from early on. In response, authorities explored the idea of moving the game to noon local time, before the day’s first match between Norway and Brazil. However, according to L’Equipe, both national federations pushed back against the proposed change, expressing their discomfort with altering their preparation routines on such short notice. After pressure from both federations, FIFA ultimately decided to keep the original evening slot despite being fully aware of the forecast. That call has now backfired, with the match delayed regardless after the weather arrived exactly as predicted.
Curacao are among the lowest ranked teams ahead of their match against Ecuador at the 2026 World Cup. There could be more movement in Group E of the 2026 World Cup, with Curacao looking to improve against Ecuador the image left in the first match, a 7-1 loss to Germany that pushed them down slightly in the FIFA world ranking. The current ranking of Curacao is 83rd, which is one spot lower than the June 11 update. That puts the Caribbean side in a difficult position ahead of the match, even if they are mostly enjoying their first-ever appearance in the competition. With the ranking changing after every match, Curacao will be looking to climb if it can put together a strong result. A positive performance against Ecuador would help them keep pace, even if their goal may be more modest than what some other teams might aim for. Curacao’s rivals As expected, the team that stands out most in the group is Germany. They are currently 8th in the FIFA world ranking, making them the highest-ranked side in the section by a clear margin after being 10th in the latest ranking. Ivory Coast and Ecuador are very close in the ranking (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Ecuador are next in line, but far behind at 28th, which made them one of the main contenders to advance from the group until they lost their opening match and put themselves at risk of missing out on the next round. Ivory Coast follow closely behind at 31th after starting the competition three spots lower. The most important thing for them is that they beat their direct rivals, which also means Curacao are the lowest-ranked team among the four. Curacao’s highest ranking Curacao have remained in a steady position over the years in the FIFA ranking. Their current position is not too far from their highest ranking, which came in 2017 when they reached 68th place. Their lowest ranking came in 2014, when they were 183rd.
Tap a headline to view metadata and excerpt fields in Sportra, then use the article website button to continue on the original publisher page.