What's Holding Up the Mexico vs. Ecuador World Cup Round of 32 Showdown?

The round of 32 clash between Mexico and Ecuador at the Estadio Azteca was pushed back on Tuesday evening after a powerful thunderstorm swept through the southern portion of Mexico City.

Ominous dark clouds began rolling in three hours ahead of kickoff, and two hours before the scheduled start, heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning began pouring down on the stadium.

The downpour showed no signs of letting up over the following hour, and 40 minutes before the planned 9 p.m. ET start, a message flashed across the screens inside the Azteca: "The match has been delayed."

"Keep the celebration going, but remain calm and stay in your seats," came the announcement over the Estadio Azteca's public address system.

What Time Will Mexico vs. Ecuador Kick-Off?

The game is now set to begin at 8 p.m. local time (7 p.m. PST / 10 p.m. EST / 3 a.m. BST).

SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.

FIFA's bad weather protocol requires that all activity on the field be halted for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Both Javier Aguirre and Sebastián Beccacece's squads were on the verge of taking to the pitch for their warm-up routines when the delay was officially announced.