By the time Thomas Tuchel reaches the Azteca dressing room on Sunday, he may have to come up with something different. Because over this entertainingly chaotic World Cup, he has often repeated a message to his players: ‘If we are just the best version of ourselves, we’ll be fine.’
‘We don’t need anything extra in these stages, but just trust and belief in ourselves,’ he notes.
“England face Mexico at the Azteca, where altitude, thunderstorms and a hostile nation await in a World Cup last-16 tie.”
Except for this last-16 match against co-hosts Mexico, almost nothing is normal. The Azteca sits 2,240m above sea level — an advantage Mexico have ruthlessly exploited. They have won all four matches at these finals without conceding, scoring eight goals. At home, they have won 70 of 89 matches at the stadium, losing just twice.
Friday’s tortuous confusion over whether the game would even kick off at 6pm local time added another layer of mayhem. Forecasted thunderstorms forced Tuchel and his staff to reconsider logistics — right down to when players should sleep. Harry Kane told fans: ‘I think everyone would love nothing more than to be celebrating as the sun’s rising at 5,6am.’
The setting only raises the stakes. The Azteca has witnessed more history than any stadium — the same pitch where Diego Maradona and Pelé reached mythic peaks. It carries emotional depth for England too: the ‘Hand of God’.
Tuchel played up the spiritual aspects, speaking of potential karmic retribution and calling the fixture ‘beautiful’. ‘It’s an iconic match to play against Mexico in Mexico,’ he said.
If it retains that beauty, Tuchel might have another description: stressful. England expected disruption, but not like this. England needed Kane to bail them out against DR Congo in the round of 32; a similar performance here could see them sent packing. The winners will face either Brazil or Norway in the quarter-finals. Mexico’s entire country is behind them — border guards talk about the match with arrivals, flight attendants shout ‘Viva Mexico!’ as passengers disembark.
Tuchel knows this match ‘will be against the whole country, the energy of the whole country in their stadium’. That stress can work both ways. England must now prove they are the best version of themselves — or go home.