2 min readUpdated: Jul 1, 2026 06:56 AM IST
A thunderstorm over the Mexico City Stadium area has delayed the Round of 32 clash between Mexico and Ecuador. According to a report by news agency Associated Press, the storm in the area started two hours before the knockout match was set to begin.
The report added that no announcement was made on when it would start.
Mexico are one of the three co-hosts of the ongoing FIFA World Cup along with Canada and the USA. The South American side is hoping to use home conditions to make a deep run in the tournament. History has it that Mexico’s best World Cup performances (reaching the quarter-finals) have always come when they have hosted the tournament, in 1970 and then in 1986.
Mexico have already used home conditions to great advantage at the 2026 World Cup, winning all their three group stage games. Ecuador, meanwhile, reached this round by finishing third in Group E, behind Germany and Ivory Coast.
All three of Mexico’s group stage wins came at venues more than 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) above sea level. El Tri often capitalized late, scoring five of its six goals after halftime, perhaps as fatigue began to take its toll.
However, in the form of Ecuador, Mexico are likely to find a nation who are up to the task, despite the high altitude of roughly 7,300 feet (2,200 meters) elevation at the Azteca in Mexico City.
Ecuador often plays home matches at more than 9,000 feet (2,743 meters) in Quito, and, like Mexico, has used geography to its advantage. The Ecuadorians went unbeaten at home during qualifying and had victories over Uruguay, Chile, Peru and Venezuela in Quito.
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Mexican fans tormented Ecuador team with sirens
According to another report in The Associated Press, Mexican football fans tried their best to torment Ecuador players before the Round of 32 clash. So much so that the Ecuadorian federation has filed a formal complaint with World Cup organizers about the tactics used by Mexican football fans to rattle their players.
Fans gathered outside the Westin Hotel in Santa Fe where Ecuador are staying and used loudspeakers, horns and motorcycles to disturb the visiting team’s rest.
