Tuchel Already Has an Excuse if England Lose to Mexico

England manager Thomas Tuchel has stated that it's impossible for his team to adapt to the altitude in Mexico City, where the Three Lions are set to face World Cup co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in a Round of 16 clash on Sunday.

Yesterday, the English side struggled significantly against DR Congo, requiring Harry Kane to rescue them. The prolific striker scored twice in the final 15 minutes, completing a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory for England.

Mexico has played three of their four 2026 World Cup matches at the Estadio Azteca, which sits approximately 2,240 meters (7,350 feet) above sea level. In contrast, England is based in Kansas City and travels for each fixture. The team has returned to their Kansas base and will fly to Mexico City on Friday afternoon.

"This is probably one of the most beautiful and exciting matchups you can have," Tuchel said regarding England's Round of 16 encounter. "You play against Mexico at the Azteca, and there will be many, many, many obstacles awaiting us. Not to mention, the altitude will, of course, be a huge disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it in four days. It's simply impossible, and perhaps even more obstacles will emerge. But we are ready for it, maybe we need it. Now we have the perfect platform to genuinely believe that we are ready, and that when it gets tough, we will find the answers."

Ecuador lodged an official complaint with FIFA after fireworks were set off outside their team hotel in Mexico City the night before their 2-0 loss to Mexico. "I'm not sure if the journey will be smooth, if sleep will be peaceful, if there will be noise outside the hotel. Okay, let it happen. This is a very beautiful and exciting match. There will be many obstacles, but this team will be ready, whatever it takes," the England coach declared.

However, Tuchel was adamant that England had already adapted to the climate since their arrival in the USA for their pre-tournament camp in Florida: "We came to the USA very early and built up good preparation in the heat. That was the main idea – to acclimatize. This would help them, so I think the heat and humidity won't be a problem for us. We are used to it. We are used to it from training and from our preparatory camp in Florida."

"My understanding is that we cannot adapt to the altitude. That's simply a huge advantage Mexico will have. It just takes too much time. We only have three days between this match. Physically, it's simply not possible to adapt to such a significant altitude. We knew this beforehand, so it's just something, a disadvantage, that we will have to deal with, and I think we've shown the attitude that we are ready for it, and we move on from there," the German added.