Mexico fans have been letting off fireworks and playing loud music outside England’s team hotel the night before the two nations clash in a huge World Cup last-16 showdown.
Fan Tactics to Disrupt England
Social media was awash on Sunday morning with footage of scores of Mexico supporters doing their best to disrupt the sleep of Thomas Tuchel and his Three Lions squad in Mexico City ahead of their knockout tie at the high-altitude Estadio Azteca, which gets underway at 1am BST on Monday (6pm local time).
Videos displayed fireworks and flares being let off outside the hotel in the Santa Fe district of the capital in the early hours of Sunday, with hundreds of people gathered making plenty of noise including band music being played with instruments including drums and trumpets.
Similar scenes were witnessed ahead of Mexico’s round-of-32 win over Ecuador at the Azteca on Tuesday, which led to Ecuador submitting an official complaint to FIFA after they lost 2-0 in a game that was delayed by an hour due to thunder and lightning after experiencing a restless night courtesy of fireworks, music, motorbikes, loudspeakers and car horns.
England's Preparations and Security
England had been anticipating such disruption and many in camp are believed to have brought earplugs and sleep bands for their two-night stay in Mexico City, while the BBC reported that those who didn’t would be offered sleep remedies or white noise audio machines.
The England squad arrived in Mexico City from their Kansas City training base late on Friday night amid the chaos and confusion over whether the game would be moved by FIFA to a midday kick-off (7pm BST) amid fears over further delays caused by storms and potential flooding, with the decision eventually made not to make a change following a furious reaction.
They had been hoping to keep the location of their hotel under wraps in a bid to minimise the potential pre-match disruption, though those plans were quickly scuppered by leaks as they were greeted by scores of fans and hostile boos as they arrived on Friday.
There is an enhanced security operation in place around the England team, whose hotel - which has a fence around it blocking outside access - has been guarded by more than 100 riot police from the National Guard in bullet-proof vests. A police dog and drone are also being used nearby.
Mexican authorities are poised to deploy 17,000 police officers in Mexico City on Sunday, with 7,500 of those at the Azteca. The Sunday Telegraph reports that it is the biggest security operation ever seen for an England football fixture.
Four people died in the mass fan celebrations that followed Mexico’s win over Ecuador on Tuesday.
