Mexico coach Javier Aguirre has expressed his frustration over a possible change in the time of the round of 16 match against England, stressing that such a change would interfere with the team's preparation plans.
Mexico coach Javier Aguirre described the possible time change for the round of 16 match against England as a "gut in the stomach". FIFA is considering moving the match at the Azteca Stadium from 18:00 local time (13:00 BST) to an earlier time due to the risk of bad weather. As of Friday evening, no confirmation had yet come, but Aguirre warned that such a decision "will hit us hard."
"It's like a punch in the stomach," he told Radio Formula. "Now we have to completely change the work plan. I'm not saying that everything will go awry, but almost, because we are losing six hours already programmed. I don't like it at all, but obviously we will adapt to what FIFA says. Neither my players nor I are happy. This changes everything because we have to reschedule everything and wake up earlier. I don't like the idea at all."
Mexico won all four matches of the tournament without conceding a goal. England will also face the added challenge of altitude and a hostile atmosphere, with Aguirre describing the 6pm time slot as "perfectly adequate". The 67-year-old insists his team would not benefit from a time change. "Nobody asked me," he added. "At 6pm we were fine. We had very good performances at that time. It's an ideal time, and I like it because we play well at that time. Midday is not a common time for us. I don't think we have played at midday in the last 40 years. This team has never played at that time under my management. I don't agree, and no one asked me, but FIFA decides and I adapt. I don't see any advantage, none. Since the match against Ecuador is over, we knew we would play at 6pm, and now this hits us hard.
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