MEXICO CITY — The World Cup match between Mexico and England will kick off as originally scheduled on Sunday, sources have told ESPN, following lengthy talks between FIFA and the two national associations on Friday.
Kick-off will be at 6 p.m. local time at the Azteca Stadium, which is 8 p.m ET and 1 a.m. on Monday in the UK.
Fears over adverse weather conditions in the Mexican capital on Sunday evening had led to the Mexican government seeking an earlier kickoff time, specifically to noon — six hours earlier in the day.
But sources have told ESPN that opposition from both the Mexican Football Federation and English FA led to FIFA rejecting calls for a kickoff change and sticking with the original kickoff time.
FIFA had been keen to avoid a repeat of Mexico’s clash with Ecuador at the same venue in the round of 32, when the kickoff time was delayed by an hour because of thunderstorms.
However, Mexico coach Javier Aguirre had spoken out against the potential time change.
“It’s a kick in the gut; now we must change everything. It’s not that all the work goes down the drain — though it’s close — because you’re having to scrap six hours of scheduled planning. I don’t like it at all,” Aguirre told Radio Formula.
“Obviously, we’ll abide by what FIFA says, but neither my players nor I are happy about it.”
Rescheduling the match would have also affected England’s preparations. The Three Lions are scheduled to arrive late Friday and will hold their Saturday training session at the UNAM Pumas grounds in the south of the capital, so would have been left with less time to acclimate to the Mexican capital’s high elevation before kickoff.
Azteca Stadium sits at more than 7,300 feet above sea level. For elite athletes to perform at their peak at high altitude, a period of adaption is required to reduce fatigue caused by lower atmospheric pressure and reduced oxygen availability, experts say. Sports scientists generally recommend an extended acclimation period of at least two weeks, or the “fly-in, fly-out” method of arriving as close to game time as possible before acute symptoms set in.
“My understanding is that we cannot adapt to the altitude,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said Wednesday. “That is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have. It just takes too much time.
“We have only three days in between [the round-of-32 win over Congo DR and the Mexico game]. This is physically just not possible to adapt to the altitude, which is quite high.”
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