With just weeks until Mexico face Portugal in a high-profile friendly, Portuguese media report growing concern over renovation delays at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca, now renamed Estadio Banorte.<\/p>\n
While organizers insist the venue will be ready for March 28, uncertainty has sparked speculation about a potential change of site for the match \u2014 and even future World Cup fixtures.<\/p>\n
Concern is mounting in Portugal over the status of Mexico City\u2019s historic Estadio Azteca, recently rebranded as Estadio Banorte, as renovation work continues less than two months before a scheduled friendly against Mexico.<\/p>\n
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, members of the Portuguese national team\u2019s coaching staff and federation officials are uneasy about whether the stadium will meet required safety and logistical standards in time for the March 28 match. The report suggests delays could, in a worst-case scenario, prompt FIFA to reconsider not only the friendly but potentially other World Cup-related fixtures if key construction phases are not completed on schedule.<\/p>\n
The match is expected to draw global attention, particularly with the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo featuring in what would be his first appearance in Mexico.<\/p>\n
Amid the speculation, Emilio Azc\u00e1rraga acknowledged setbacks in the remodeling process but attempted to calm fears about the March fixture. “There are many things that, due to the complexity of the project, cannot be completed now. That\u2019s why they will be finished after the World Cup,” he admitted, while assuring that the first phase of renovations would be ready before Portugal\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n
So far, neither FIFA nor stadium officials have announced any changes to the venue. The Mexico vs. Portugal friendly remains on the calendar, as does the 2026 World Cup opener scheduled for the same stadium.<\/p>\n
Alternative venues have entered the conversation. Options such as Estadio Akron, Estadio BBVA, and Estadio Ol\u00edmpico Universitario have been mentioned as potential backups should construction deadlines not be met.<\/p>\n
With ticket demand already soaring and international attention fixed on the venue\u2019s progress, the coming weeks will determine whether Mexico\u2019s most iconic stadium is ready to deliver – or whether organizers will be forced into a last-minute adjustment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY With just weeks until Mexico face Portugal in a high-profile friendly, Portuguese media report growing concern over renovation delays at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca, now renamed Estadio Banorte. While organizers insist the venue will be ready for March 28, uncertainty has sparked speculation about a potential change of site for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}