Henderson admits altitude bite but insists England will find solutions against Mexico

Jordan Henderson conceded he could feel the altitude during England’s final training session at the Azteca Stadium on Saturday, but insisted the squad were focused and ready for their World Cup last-16 tie against Mexico.

The Three Lions trained at Pumas’ ‘Quarry’ facility before Henderson and head coach Thomas Tuchel addressed the media at the iconic venue, which sits 2,400 metres above sea level.

“You can feel it a little bit,” Henderson said. “You can feel something. You felt it a little bit even when you just land and come into the hotel, and you just walk around. When it came to training, for me personally, I felt it maybe in the first 10-15 minutes. Once training finished, I stopped thinking about it so much and just concentrated on the session.”

England officials flew the squad into Toluca on Friday evening, giving the players two nights to acclimatise before the match. Tuchel had previously said after the victory over DR Congo in Atlanta that it was “physically not possible” to fully adapt to the altitude, and acknowledged Mexico held a “clear physical advantage” as a result.

On Saturday, Tuchel added his own candid assessment: “I felt, for example, a slight headache and a little trouble through the day. I didn’t sleep as well as the days before. But it’s nothing that you can’t handle and you can’t adapt to.”

Henderson, when asked whether the conditions felt unfair, raised a laugh by noting: “Well, the Viagra helped!” — a reference to the reported use of the drug at altitude to aid blood flow and oxygen delivery.

The experienced midfielder was quick to refocus, however. “The gaffer is spot on really — as players we are very adaptable and just get on with things,” he said. “Everything that we can’t influence like kick-off time or altitude or stuff at the hotel is not in our control, so we just need to find solutions, which we’re pretty good at. For us, it’s about full focus on our job ahead, no excuse. We’re ready to go and be the best version of ourselves tomorrow — if we do that we’ll have a good chance.”