England's rearranged World Cup qualifier against Poland will go ahead on Wednesday afternoon with the roof closed at the national stadium despite Warsaw basking in sunshine.

Torrential rain prompted Tuesday night's original match to be postponed at around 10.05pm local time, with the Polish Football Federation having opted against shutting the roof earlier in the week and unable to close the structure while the downpour persisted.

The covering had actually been unfurled above the pitch by about midnight as ground staff started work in earnest on the sodden turf.

It was opened again for a period on Wednesday morning to allow air into the arena and sunshine on to the surface, which was only relaid last week at a cost of £115,000, but it will be closed by the time the game kicks off at 5pm local time (4pm BST).

The forecast had been for showers today in Warsaw, though the weather has actually been sunny so far.

The Football Association expect around 60% of the 2,500 England supporters who were present on Tuesday night to attend the rearranged game and are in discussions over how to compensate for the trips of those who have since had to return home.

There will be six or seven staff from the FA on the gates to assist fans whose tickets may have been lost or damaged by the rain. The Polish Football Federation has already confirmed it will refund any fans' unused tickets.

"I expect there will be between half and two thirds of the England fans who travelled out for the game to be there this afternoon," said Mark Perryman, a spokesman for the London England Fans' group.

"A lot of fans I've spoken to have booked to come out on Monday and go back on Thursday anyway while a lot have Polish relatives over here. But in any case it will not cost the fans a lot of money for the extra day because Poland is a cheap place to get to, to stay at and to eat in – maybe an extra £150."

Adrian Bevington, the managing director for Club England, visited the national stadium on Wednesday morning along with the coaches Gary Neville and Ray Lewington to meet with representatives of Fifa and the Polish Football Federation ahead of the rearranged game.

The locals had initially suggested replaying the match in next month's international window, but the FA pushed for the game to be played on Wednesday, as per Fifa's regulations on postponements and abandonments.

England's players, who were already on board the team bus when official confirmation was delivered that the game would not go ahead, returned to the team's city centre hotel and had an evening meal together.

They clicked back into their normal pre-match routine on Wednesday, with a squad breakfast and morning stroll around the hotel, with Roy Hodgson having suggested that he intends to select the same team for the match.