Tuchel adjusts England's travel plans to tackle Azteca altitude ahead of Mexico last-16

Thomas Tuchel has altered England’s travel schedule ahead of Sunday’s World Cup last-16 tie against Mexico, flying the squad to Mexico City on Friday afternoon rather than the day before the match, in a bid to give his players the best possible chance of acclimatising to the Azteca Stadium’s 7,000-foot altitude.

The Azteca sits 2,240 metres above sea level — a factor Tuchel openly acknowledged as an “unfair” and “huge advantage” for the hosts. Having returned to their Kansas City base after the group-stage win over the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta, England will now make the journey a day earlier than originally scheduled. “We will go one night earlier. It makes sense,” Tuchel said. “The ball will fly differently. It will fly maybe five yards more. It’s just difficult. We just need the experience.”

Tuchel explained the narrow window available to him. “The recommendation is you either go 10 days before — which is too long for us — or last minute, which is not allowed. We have spoken to teams who do it and they say they travel very, very late on match day if they can’t have time to adapt.”

Beyond the logistical challenge, Sunday’s fixture carries a heavy historical weight for England. It is their first match at the Azteca since the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, where Diego Maradona scored both the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal and his celebrated solo effort — two of the most iconic moments in football history. Tuchel, who was 13 at the time and watched Germany face Argentina in the final at the same ground, said he is “super excited” to coach in such a setting and urged his players to channel that energy.

“I just love football and the old tournaments,” Tuchel said. “These pictures from Mexico, they are in St George’s Park, where we stay. Big pieces of history. This is a big moment to make peace with the stadium and turn things around.”

The Germany-born coach was characteristically direct about the opportunity the occasion presents. “It will reward us. We will get it back. It’s karma. Karma will come back for us. We will turn it around.”

Tuchel also recalled the Azteca’s distinctive atmosphere from his childhood memories of the 1986 tournament. “I remember something was hanging in the centre of the Azteca and it never moved. It was like a ball hanging and the sun was so steep the shadow was always there in the middle. I remember the coffee table book that came from it and the pictures with all these flags. Super excited to have this match. It’s an iconic match to play against Mexico in Mexico. It will be against the whole country, the energy of the whole stadium in their country.”

England will need to overcome both the altitude and a partisan full house if they are to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.