AdminEngland fans in the UK face the prospect of a later start on Monday morning because of weather.
The Three Lions beat DR Congo 2-1 in Atlanta to set up a last 16 game against Mexico in Mexico City.
Kick-off for that match at the iconic Estadio Azteca in the capital is scheduled for 6pm local time on July 5.
For those watching in the UK, play is due to start at 1am on Monday, July 6.
However, according to the Met Office forecast at the time of writing, thunderstorms are expected to begin an hour before kick-off.
This means the start of the match could be delayed due to lightning in the vicinity of the Estadio Azteca.
With England fans in the UK already facing a very late night before the working week begins, they may be staring at the possibility of even less sleep…
What are the World Cup weather rules?
Severe weather has already impacted matches at the World Cup in the United States and Mexico.
England have already experienced this as their friendly against Costa Rica was hit by weather delays.
When France beat Iraq 3-0 in Philadelphia, a thunderstorm caused a two-hour delay.
Mexico and Ecuador also had to wait an extra hour to start their last 32 match because of a thunderstorm in Mexico City.
According to US rules, play must be stopped if a lightning strike is detected within eight miles of a stadium.
A match can only resume after 30 minutes has passed since the last lightning strike and that countdown resets if more inclement weather arrives.
Chelsea found this out the hard way during a two-hour weather delay close to the end of a match against Benfica at last summer’s Club World Cup.
Besides the fans, this also has implications for the players, who must find ways to stay loose despite being forced off the pitch.
Will the weather delay the game at the Azteca?
Mexico is currently in its rainy season, with heavy rain showers common in the afternoons.
While hurricane-like conditions are unlikely until September, the Estadio Azteca is braced for thunderstorms due to the local climate and geography.
Fox weather meteorologist Stephen Morgan told talkSPORT that while temperatures are not a problem, storms will affect things on the ground in Mexico City.
“We’ve had some increased moisture in Mexico and, with that in mind, we might have some rain in the area. It’s the lightening I would be concerned with rather than the rain.
“If there’s a lightening strike within an eight-mile radius of the stadium they will have to postpone the game and there will be a chance we will have some storms for Azteca Stadium.”
The stadium is located approximately 2,200 metres above sea level in Mexico City.
To put this into context, it is 855 metres higher above sea level than the summit of the United Kingdom’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis.
At such elevation, the risk of thunderstorms forming at the Estadio Azteca is increased.
Thunderstorms are usually linked with cumulonimbus clouds, which form through the rising and cooling of warm and moist air.
They could initially be recognised as other clouds such as cumulus, stratocumulus, or altocumulus.
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