Mexico’s round of 16 clash against England, scheduled for Sunday 5 July, has once again taken center stage.
After the Mexican government sought an earlier start time amid the scorching heat forecast on Sunday evening, July 5 at noon, the talks ran behind closed doors.
The talks were held between FIFA and the two national confederations from the competing sides on Friday 3 July.
According to the latest media reports, the kickoff time for the Round of 16 between Mexico and England remains unchanged as originally scheduled at 18:00 local time in Mexico City.
What led to the decision to keep the kick-off time unchanged was opposition from the Mexican Football Association and the English Football Association, prompting FIFA to reject calls for a change.
A report appeared on ESPN highlighting that FIFA wanted to avoid a repeat of Mexico’s clash with Ecuador at the same venue in the round of 16 when the kickoff time was pushed to an hour due to stormy weather.
After the decision, Mexico’s chief Javier Aguirre had spoken out against the proposed time change.
“It’s a kick in the gut; now we have to change everything. It’s not that all the work goes down the drain – although it’s close – because you have to scrap six hours of scheduled planning. I don’t like it at all,” Aguirre told Radio Formula.
Adding: “Of course we will abide by what FIFA says, but neither my players nor I are happy about it.”
