PREVIEW: Azteca awaits as England face Mexico

Having both topped their group and knocked off DR Congo and Ecuador, respectively, Mexico and England will now meet at The Azteca in Mexico City with a quarter-final spot at stake.

Many have tipped Mexico to cause what would, on paper at least, be an upset in their host city. This comes after El Tricolor have won all of their games so far without so much as conceding a goal, and they have only ever lost two competitive games at the famous stadium out of the 89 they’ve played there, the last of those coming almost 13 years ago to the USA.

The Azteca sits more than 2,200 metres above sea level, which makes for incredibly difficult playing conditions for those not used to it. For comparison, England’s highest match above sea level so far this tournament was 310m, and I think everyone can agree they already appear to be struggling with the weather conditions over in North America.

England have played twice before at the Azteca, in the 1986 World Cup, but neither game was against Mexico. They defeated Paraguay 3-0 in their first match, before Diego Maradona’s iconic brace downed England in the quarterfinals in front of over 100,000 spectators.

The first goal was a thing of beauty, with Maradona weaving in and out of English defenders, while the second was, of course, ‘The Hand of God.’

Whoever progresses at the Azteca will take on either Brazil or Norway, depending on who wins that tie, in a quarter-final in Miami.

Both sides will, of course, fancy themselves to go through with Mexico naturally believing the conditions and home advantage will help them, whilst England will believe they can outclass them if they manage the conditions.

The match will kick off at 1am BST and will be broadcast live on BBC One.