England will meet tournament co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday evening after edging past DR Congo to reach the knockout stages. But preparations for one of England's biggest matches of the tournament are set to be disrupted before a ball is kicked.
Concern Over Noisy Fan Tactics
The concern comes after the Ecuadorian Football Federation lodged an official complaint with FIFA after thousands of Mexican supporters gathered outside their team hotel and kept them up through the night ahead of the Round of 32 clash with Mexico. Exactly the same is set to happen again, with Mexican fans set to use loudspeakers, cars, music, and motorbikes to keep Harry Kane and his teammates up all night.
Ecuador bosses were furious at what happened to them, arguing the incident was contrary to the principles of fair play and equal sporting conditions expected at a World Cup. Mexico went on to win that match 2-0, setting up a blockbuster last-16 meeting with England.
England's Efforts to Stay Hidden
England are understood to be trying to keep the location of their team hotel as private as possible. However, FIFA regulations require teams to arrive in the host city at least 24 hours before kick-off, making it difficult to avoid attention ahead of the match. Fans knew exactly where Ecuador were staying and created noise from around midnight into the early hours.
Tuchel's Plea to Families
Thomas Tuchel has called for families to put football before school when England play Mexico in a match that kicks off at 1am on Monday morning UK time. In the past it has been common for schools and employers to allow England games in the latter stages of major tournaments to be shown when they clash with working hours, but Monday’s kick-off in the small hours poses a unique obstacle.
“Write an excuse for school and let them watch football,” Tuchel pleaded after Harry Kane’s two late goals saw England squeeze through the round of 32. “Come on. There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch. There will be a big, big match on in four days and we need the support of everyone, and especially of the children.”
Government Response
Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith did not quite agree with Tuchel’s comments and suggested young people may miss out on important learning by writing excuses to schools. Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on Thursday, she said: “I don’t want to be a killjoy here, but I’ll tell you what the biggest killjoy is – young people who then don’t have the learning to be able to go on and do what they need to do in life. I quite understand if people want to watch the match, including young people, I will be. I’ll be having a little disco nap in the afternoon and I’ll be celebrating our victory the next morning when I go into work, looking obviously as fresh as a daisy.”
