Exposing the myth of the Estadio Azteca as England prepare for Mexico test

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3 July 2026

Chances are, in the hours

since England booked their place in the round of 16

, you will have heard someone mention how unbeatable

Mexico

are at the Estadio Azteca.

Ahead of England’s arrival there on Sunday, a lot of time will be devoted to the albeit

impressive unbeaten run of Mexico at their national stadium

. But dig a little deeper beyond the numbers and there is nothing too much for Thomas Tuchel to fear.

First of all, yes, it is true that

have not lost at the stadium since September 2013 and are on an unbeaten run of 26 games – but a look at who they are playing suggests that stat is not as impressive as meets the eye.

In the time since their last defeat,

have played Honduras and Panama four times. They have faced El Salvador, Costa Rica, the United States, Canada and Jamaica twice. They have played one game against New Zealand, Israel, Scotland, Guatemala and Portugal.

Aside from the final name, none of those opponents can really be considered to be part of the footballing elite can they?

The only previous

World Cup

winner to have played

at the Azteca was Spain in 2010, in a 1-1 friendly draw during their post-celebration hangover phase.

There’s also been an awful lot of draws. In the last ten years, seven of the 21 games

have played at the Azteca have ended in stalemates. Their wins have been against the likes of Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, South Africa and Ecuador. They could only beat Scotland 1-0.

Scotland

Mexico also have an appalling record when it comes to the round of 16. Before 2022, when they exited at the group stage,

lost in the round of 16 in the past seven tournaments.

have only ever made it past that round at tournaments they have hosted, and even then they lost the very next game.

Before 2026 and the creation of the round of 32, you have to go back 40 years to find the last time

won a

knock-out game.

England, then, should have nothing to fear when heading to

City and, if something is going to stop them, the altitude would be the most significant factor.

The Azteca is 2,240 meters above sea level – Wembley is 50 metres – which means there will be fewer oxygen molecules entering the bloodstream of the already tired-looking

England

squad. But Scotland managed to play there without needing to pump Oli McBurnie full of added O2.

Let us not forget the Mexican players are subject to the very same conditions, and even if they more used to it, that does not make them invulnerable to it.

As for this

have looked impressive and are yet to concede but have faced teams ranked 54th, 32nd, 48th and 24th in the world.

So there is no need for fear ahead and any

fan making the commitment to watch the game live at 1am should not go into it with the assumption they are about to

witness a real-life nightmare

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