The stadium footage on the big screen just lingered on three England fans dressed as lions. One of the lions started to twirl his tail when he realised he was on camera. No boos from the Mexico fans this time. They seemed to appreciate a piece of English eccentricity.

Within the opening kilometre my chest felt unusually tight. I wasn’t gasping for air, but every breath felt as though it wasn’t delivering the same level of oxygen I was used to. My breathing was noticeably harder than it would have been back home. At the same time, my legs felt incredibly heavy.

Part of that was probably the altitude, but part of it was undoubtedly the journey. I’d flown in from Atlanta less than 24 hours earlier and I could still feel the travel in my legs. They lacked their usual spring, making the opening two kilometres feel much tougher than a routine 5km would in England.

By around the third kilometre things began to improve. My breathing settled, my chest loosened and I found something approaching a rhythm. The run became more manageable, although it never quite felt easy.

I’m not over exaggerating by saying it’s almost completely been drowned out by the relentless booing of the home crowd. We’ve still got (at least) 90 minutes to go until this gets underway…

A small contingent of England fans behind a goal tried their best to sing loud and proud but they could not be heard.

I’m pretty sure this is meant to be a neutral match presentation but we’ve now had about an hour of Mexican classics to get the crowd revved up. It appears to be doing the trick…

Due to adverse weather conditions in Mexico City, including risk caused by lightning in the vicinity of the stadium, the kick-off of the World Cup 2026 round of 16 match between Mexico and England has been delayed to 19.00 local time (21:00 EDT).

The safety and security of all individuals is FIFA’s priority. We thank all fans for their understanding and cooperation.

The weather delay is frustrating for the thousands of people inside the stadium because at this moment the conditions are fine. I am not even sure it’s raining!

But this is a decision made on what the radar says and obviously those images aren’t good. Time for me to listen to Oliver Holt to tell me again what World Cups were like in the 1960s.

The Azteca is starting to seethe. This place is like a big beast, squatting on the southern outskirts of the Mexico capital. For football fans, it’s close to a religious experience visiting here, partly for what it is now and partly for the history it holds.

There’s a message on the journalists’ screens that say the match has been delayed by an hour. Nothing has been communicated to the fans yet.