For fans outside of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the timing of games has been one issue to contend with when watching certain World Cup fixtures. This will be very apparant for those who want to watch England take on Mexico in their upcoming Round of 16 match, with the game set to kick off at 1am (GMT).

Having finished top of Group L, Thomas Tuchel’s men met DR Congo in the next round but struggled against their underdog opposition, falling behind to a fine effort from Brian Cipenga in the 7th minute. It took until the 75th minute before Harry Kane found a leveller and then won the game with four minutes to play.

As a result, England will take on Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The tournament co-hosts beat Ecuador 2-0 in their previous outing, having also finished top of their group (A).

More Than Just Altitude Could Cause Chaos During England vs Mexico

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Much has been made about the altitude difficulties England will face during the fixture, which takes place at 6pm local time. This is because Estadio Azteca sits at 2,200 metres (7,218 ft) above sea level, making it the highest altitude stadium in North America.

Mexico have lost just twice in 89 competitive matches at the stadium, with it widely believed that the altitude hinders opposition teams when visiting. Tuchel’s men will have to deal with less oxygen in every breath, while there is also less resistance on the ball, causing it to move faster, which could catch out players unfamiliar with the conditions.

With all this to worry about, there is one more key issue that could impact the occasion, as thunderstorms are expected that evening in Mexico City. According to the Met Office forecast, they tempestuous weather is expected to begin an hour before kick-off.

The report notes that the thunderstorms are forecast between 17:00 and 19:00 local time. As such, the game could be delayed, as was seen when poor conditions halted France’s 3-0 win over Iraq in Philadelphia by two hours. England also faced weather delays in the US ahead of their pre-World Cup friendly against Costa Rica.

Any major storms could prove disastrous for England fans hoping to watch the Mexico game in UK pubs. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made sure that the venues will be allowed to stay open until 5am on Monday morning, but things could get tight if the game is delayed.

Monday’s match in Mexico is not expected to finish until at least 03:00, but if the game is delayed, fans might be forced out before the full-time whistle is blown. What’s more, if injury time and penalties are required, it will make timing towards the end of the match even tighter.

US Have Strict Rules Over Lightening Near Sport Stadiums

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According to US rules, via TalkSport, play must be stopped if a lightning strike is detected within eight miles of a stadium. A match can only resume after 30 minutes have passed since the last lightning strike, and that countdown resets if more bad weather arrives.

Fox Weather meteorologist Stephen Morgan has explained:

Speaking on all the issues his team could face against Mexico, England boss Tuchel accepted their World Cup rivals have a ‘huge advantage’ due to the altitude, adding: “The ball will fly differently [at altitude]. It will fly maybe five yards more. It’s just difficult. We just need the experience.”

Even so, he insisted his players won’t be looking for excuses. “Bring it on,” he said, before noting: “It’s a very beautiful and exciting fixture. There will be lots of obstacles, but this team will be ready, whatever it takes.”

Tottenham Hotspur have been offered the chance to sign AC Milan forward Rafael Leao by super-agent Jorge Mendes, according to reports in Italy, via Sport Witness.

Spurs have been incredibly busy in the window so far, breaking their club record to sign Matheus Fernandes in an £85m deal from West Ham, while they have also agreed a £100m deal to sign Sandro Tonali, having already completed deals for Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Martin Dubravka, and Jan Paul van Hecke.

But the club are now looking at options to strengthen their attack for Roberto De Zerbi, and they’ve been given the opportunity to complete another mega deal.

Tottenham Offered Rafael Leao

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Leao, who has been described as a ‘superstar’, looks certain to leave AC Milan this summer as he enters the final two years of his contract at the San Siro, after the club failed to reach the Champions League for next season.

The Portugal international is currently representing his country at the World Cup, but has publicly spoken about his desire for a new challenge this summer, with a move to England understood to be at the top of his wishlist.

Mendes helped to broker the deal that took Fernandes to Spurs, and it’s understood that he is likely to have made the offer of taking Leao to the club during those talks.

Milan want around €60m (£51.4m) to let Leao leave, but with limited interest currently it’s reported that they would be open to a loan deal with an obligation to buy too, which could help Spurs as they prepare for a hugely impactful summer of spending to bolster their squad.

Currently there has only been concrete interest in the 27-year-old from Turkey, but he isn’t interested in moving there at this stage of his career, and Spurs could be an ideal landing spot for him later in the window.

Leao Would Be Game-Changer for Spurs

Tottenham need attacking reinforcements as a priority now, having addressed their defence and midfield areas nice and early.

Dejan Kulusevski missed the entirety of last season due to injury and there is no update on his return, while Mohammed Kudus missed a large chunk, and both Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are recovering from ACL tears.

Leao would bring the ability to win a game on his own, and De Zerbi’s system tends to make the wingers the most important components, isolating defenders to get them one-on-one regularly. That’s where Leao thrives, and a loan being an option means this is a deal to keep a close eye on as the summer goes on.

Every World Cup scoreboard carries the same shorthand: three letters that stand for a nation and most are instantly recognizable.

England, for example, is ENG, Brazil is clearly BRA and GER stands for Germany, and so on. However, it isn’t as black and white for every country in the tournament.

Some seem to make little to no sense at all. There are those that possess codes that don’t match how English-speaking fans say their name — and the logic behind it is surprisingly more interesting than it looks.

Here’s a look into some World Cup trivia.

Why Are Spain ESP?

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This one is easily explained, but Spain features an ESP rather than SPA. In this case, it comes from the country’s own name for itself: España.

The FIFA country codes are typically built from a nation’s official name rather than the English translation. Spain is one of the clearest examples of this. Yet, if FIFA had gone with the English word, the code would more plausibly read SPA.

Why Are Switzerland SUI?

Switzerland‘s case is a little deeper. The country has four national languages (German, French, Italian and Romansh), but FIFA’s code doesn’t borrow any of the obvious options.

SUI comes from Suisse, which is the French name for the country. It also isn’t SWI, the English-based abbreviation that fans would assume, and it isn’t CHE either (Switzerland’s separate ISO code taken from the Latin title and used mainly for postal and diplomatic purposes rather than sport). Hence, why Switzerland is SUI.

List of World Cup 2026 Team Abbreviations

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Spain and Switzerland aren’t the only outliers; they are two among a group that follow a similar pattern. Take Morocco (MAR) and Ivory Coast (CIV) as examples. Those two follow the same French-derived logic as SUI, taken from Maroc and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively.

Then there are some codes that exist purely to avoid collisions. Austria becomes AUT rather than the more obvious AUS due to the fact Australia claimed the code first.

A third group also exists; it leans into formality rather than geographic. Saudi Arabia (KSA) and South Africa (RSA) both use codes from their full official titles. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of South Africa — rather than the shorthand for the country name alone.