Severe thunderstorms in Mexico City dominated the build-up to England's World Cup last-16 match against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, raising concerns that the scheduled kick-off could be delayed.

Local safety regulations require an automatic 30-minute suspension whenever lightning is detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium, with the countdown restarting after each new lightning strike.

Heavy rain, continuous thunder and difficult conditions forced journalists to remain inside the media centre, while access to photograph the teams' arrivals was cancelled.

Despite the adverse weather, there was no indication that either team had delayed its journey to the stadium, and supporters continued to fill the stands wearing ponchos and waterproof clothing.

Reports from inside the venue suggested that the rainfall had begun to ease later in the evening, offering cautious optimism that the match could still begin on time.Away from the weather, attention also turned to England's footballing challenge.

Mexico entered the knockout fixture having won every match in the tournament without conceding a goal, backed by a passionate home crowd of around 80,000 supporters and the added difficulty of playing at high altitude.

Earlier in the day, Norway produced one of the tournament's biggest upsets by defeating Brazil 2-0 thanks to two goals from Erling Haaland, meaning Norway would await the winners of Mexico versus England in the quarter-finals.

The live coverage focused primarily on evolving weather conditions, fan atmosphere around the stadium and the significance of England's upcoming test against one of the competition's strongest-performing teams.