The Azteca plays host to Mexico and England’s Round of 16 clash

By Ian King

Both England and Mexico laid ghosts to rest in their Round of 32 matches

Well, they got over the line, but only just. Two late Harry Kane goals gave England a 2-1 win against DR Congo in their Round of 32 match on Wednesday, the first time they’d come from behind to win a World Cup finals match since the 1966 final. 

Their reward for this win is an extremely tricky trip to the Azteca to play co-hosts Mexico in the last 16. Mexico’s 2-0 win against Ecuador in the last round laid a ghost to rest for them too, as their first knockout win in the World Cup since they last hosted the tournament forty years ago.

England’s historical record against Mexico is decent… but only at Wembley

England and Mexico have played each other nine times before, and England’s six previous wins in this fixture look impressive until you realise that all six of them came at Wembley. The other three meetings resulted in a draw and two defeats, and all three of those came in Mexico City. Their last meeting there came in 1985, in the pre-1986 City Tournament, with Mexico winning 1-0. 

The silver lining for England fans comes elsewhere. With seven of those nine matches having been friendlies, these two have only met each other in the finals of a major tournament once before, but that came at Wembley in 1966, and not only did England win that match 2-0, but they went on to win the tournament overall. England also won their last meeting, 3-1 at Wembley in 2010. 

Both teams have iconic strikers starting this fixture up front for them 

He’s a predictable choice, but he’s also the obvious one. Harry Kane isn’t only England’s greatest-ever striker, but he’s currently one of the two or three best in the world at the moment. He’s shattered Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 53 international goals, with his brace against DR Congo taking his overall tally to 84 goals, and he’s in joint second place in the top scorers chart for this summer’s tournament alongside Erling Haaland, with only Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé above them (at the time of writing!). 

Mexico also have a talismanic presence in attack. Going into this tournament, Raúl Jiménez had never scored in a World Cup finals for his country despite having made over 120 appearances for them. He provided the emotional focal point of their opening win against South Africa by scoring their second goal, and has since followed that up by bagging their second goal in their Round of 32 win against Ecuador. 

Right-back has rapidly become a poisoned chalice of a position for England at this World Cup

Thomas Tuchel had fresh injury headaches to deal with as a result of the DR Congo match. Declan Rice iced his hamstring post-match, with Reece James and Jarell Quansah racing to be fit for their next one. 

Given that Djed Spence didn’t tear up any trees in that match – though his performance wasn’t quite as bad as some of the hysterical screaming on social media may have made it sound – the question of who will start in what is starting to look like the poisoned chalice of the right-back position remains open to question. 

There may also be other changes. Neither Noni Madueke nor Marcus Rashford were considered to have been particularly impressive against DR Congo (though Rashford’s figures belied this, somewhat), with Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka both waiting in the wings, though there remain concerns over Saka’s fitness. 

Mexico have no injuries or suspensions to report ahead of this match. They have played a 4-3-3 with a narrow front three supported by the full-backs in all three of their matches so far, though head coach Javier Aguirre has been known in the past to switch them to a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-1-3-2 when he’s felt a need to add greater defensive solidity.

England aren’t just playing a football team at the Azteca this weekend

Were this the case, they’d probably be set fair for a comfortable win. On paper, they have better players than their opponents. 

But of course, football isn’t played on paper, and in this case the conditions that Thomas Tuchel’s team will be facing will be among the most hostile that the World Cup has to offer. They’ll also be battling the conditions, while the febrile atmosphere inside the stadium may leave the players feeling that they’re not just taking on a football team, but an entire country. 

Mexico City is at an altitude of over 2,000 metres, and that requires acclimatisation, but the logistics of this tournament have made this more or less impossible, and the noises from the England players have indicated that not a great deal has been done. 

Whether this turns out to be the theme of post-tournament post-mortems remains to be seen, though it should be added that Ecuador, who Mexico vanquished in the round of 32, are as used to playing an altitude as Mexico are and it didn’t do them any good at the Azteca. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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