England: A Breath Of Fresh Air In Mexico?
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
At 1am BST Thomas Tuchel’s England walk into the iconic, high-altitude Estadio Azteca to face co-hosts Mexico for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Playing at 2,200 meters above sea level means thinner air, recovery times between sprints are doubled, and the ball travels faster..
Taking a breath of fresh air will be far easier for the Mexicans than than our lads and could have a big influence on the game, especially in the later stages when the altitude could really sap the energy of Tuchel's team.
Only two competitive games lost since 1966
Playing in the Azteca's high altitude conditions has proved to be a massive help to Mexico and a hindrance to their opponents with the home team having lost only two competitive matches in the stadium since it opened in 1966.
When it comes to the World Cup itself, Mexico remain undefeated across the 1970, 1986, and ongoing 2026 tournaments.
It's an unfair advantage plain and simple but as one of the host nations there wasn't anything FIFA could do to level the playing field. It is what it is.
High press or change of tactics?
Instead of the high press that Tuchel has used in previous games he will likely pivot to a possession-heavy style to manage energy levels and silence a fanatical 73,000-strong home crowd.
And fanatical they are.
Back in 1994 when the WC was last in the USA I was in the Mexico end in the Yankee Stadium when they played Bulgaria. I've never been in an atmosphere anywhere like it.
Their fans were playing trumpets, drums and guitars and it was like being at a mad music festival with a speaker clamped on each ear.
The noise level was off the scale and if anything got louder when Bulgaria opened the scoring - not for the Mexicans the classic stunned silence after the oppo score.
So... you can imagine what it was like when Mexico equalised. Absolute pandemonium.
Me and my son joined in the whole atmosphere but sadly Mexico went out on penalties.
Hokey cokey kick off time back to 1am
It;s been 'in out in out shake it all about' on the KO time as FIFA considered moving the game forward to 7pm BST tonight because of a severe thunderstorm warning.
Schoolkids around the country were initially devastated thinking that their lie in on Monday morning had been pulled out from under their feet.
Pubs who had made arrangements to stay open well into the morning and fans who had made plans to stay up and have a pint or six were in disarray.
But, hang fire... forecasts of severe thunderstorms were exaggerated, the window shattering booms and downpour will now rain down from the Azteca stands as the Mexican fans thunder clap their team - hopefully to a loss.
I'll be watching the game with my mates in my old hunting ground Alnwick and for all of us watching the game at that daft time in a pub it will just add to the occasion.
And an occasion I'm sure it will be.
And... one that hopefully England will rise to and win.
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It's very poignant that England are employing a German manager while Germany exit this competition with a whimper, as they have in all major competitions in recent years. I'd love to know how the German media are covering and contrasting the fight shown by England last night with the successive failures of the German team. Especially in the context of Kane's success in the Bundesliga.
It's almost the reverse of what we saw 30 years ago when the German national team fought like tigers and Klinsmann came to Spurs.
The USA can’t stand losing. Their culture is all about winners, and if you lose then you reinvent yourself and start again to become a winner. Losers just end up on the capitalist scrap heap to fend for themselves.
They don’t have a society, it’s every man for himself, and Trump exemplifies that.
They won’t win this World Cup, and when they do get knocked out the rest of the world will celebrate. The yanks will just pretend the tournament never existed snd they will go back to their rounders World Series.
The Balogun decision is a bad decision for more reasons than the obvious corruption.
The player himself now has enormous pressure on him. Not only will his name forever be linked to a corrupt decision, but if he doesn't perform then he'll be open to criticism and ridicule, especially from opposition fans.
If the USA beat Belgium, the world will say it was because of corruption. If they lose they'll be humiliated because they cheated and still couldn't win.
Do the USA football officials want all this extra pressure? Were they lobbying for the card to be suspended? They're idiots if the answer to either of those questions is yes. The whole team is now tainted.
In the end, this…
Why was Burn so good last night.......
Hes used to playing at altitude.