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Home Sports England v Mexico kick-off time at World Cup…

England v Mexico kick-off time at World Cup set to be brought forward due to storm risk

· · 3 min read

Meanwhile Fifa regulations for the tournament state it has the right to “cancel, reschedule or relocate” matches “at its sole discretion”.

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Mexico boss Javier Aguirre was furious at the proposed change and lashed out at Fifa for their lack of consultation in an interview.

Aguirre spoke to Spanish-Mexican journalist Joaquin Lopez Doriga on Radio Formula, saying: “It’s like a kick in the gut, it changes everything, the plan. It’s not that it’s completely ruined, but almost, because you have to swallow six hours of scheduled training.

“Obviously, we will abide by what Fifa says. I don’t like it at all, nor do my players. Of course, the food, the nap, the sleep, the physiotherapy, everything, everything, it seems trivial, but it isn’t.

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“I can understand reasons and arguments but they didn’t consult me and yes, I’m quite angry.

“This is all designed so, since that day in Ecuador we talked, we knew the schedule, we knew the venue, we didn’t know the opponent, that’s true, but in the end, yes, they screw me over a little. We have no choice but to abide by what Fifa says.”

An earlier start would suit fans at home in England, with 7pm being much more palatable than a 1am kick-off.

Outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has relaxed licensing laws to allow pubs in the UK to stay open until 5am and it is unclear how a change would affect that decision.

There is also an ongoing debate over whether children should be allowed to start school later on Monday morning in order to watch the match.

A 7pm BST start could pose problems for Fifa however, with the last-16 clash between Brazil and Norway scheduled to start at 9pm BST. If the England match went to extra time, or even if there was a particularly large amount of injury time, then the two games could overlap – something Fifa avoids at World Cups outside of the final round of pool matches.

However, further reports are that Fifa will also move the kick-off of Brazil v Norway back by an hour, to 10pm BST, in order to avoid any potential clash.

When asked about the potential kick-off change during an England training session on Friday, Marcus Rashford described the situation as “not ideal” but was confident that the Three Lions would cope.

“I think for us it’s the same how we prepare for the game,” he said. “It has to be the same. We have to be focused. We have to be ready for anything. I think it’s one of our strengths as a group.

“Everyone, including the players and staff, we are ready for whatever challenges get thrown at us. So obviously it’s not ideal but also it doesn’t really matter.”

And midfielder Morgan Rogers added: “I don’t think it really affects us. I think we’ll be ready regardless of the time and the earlier probably the better, because you want to play it. We’re looking forward to whatever ​the time is and we’ll be ready.”

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Nairavoice
Contributor at NairaVoice.com.ng