Jordan Henderson admitted he could feel the altitude at the start of England's final training session before facing Mexico in the World Cup last 16. The Three Lions trained at Pumas' 'Quarry' on Saturday afternoon before Thomas Tuchel and Henderson addressed the media at the Azteca Stadium.
Henderson's assessment of the conditions
When asked for his assessment of the conditions, Henderson said: "You can feel it a little bit. You can feel something. You felt it a little bit even when you just land and come into the hotel, and you just walk around, you can feel something."
"When it came to training, for me personally, I felt it maybe in the first 10-15 minutes. Once training finished, I stopped thinking about it so much and just concentrated on the session."
"So, hopefully when the game comes tomorrow, once the lads have done the warm-up and the game starts, the full focus is just on the game and that's all it's on."
Altitude challenges at the Azteca
The Azteca Stadium is 2,400 metres above sea level. England officials decided to fly in on Friday evening into Toluca so the squad had two nights to adjust. Tuchel had said after beating DR Congo in Atlanta that it was "physically not possible" to fully adapt to the altitude. He also declared Mexico had a "clear [physical] advantage" over the Three Lions.
Tuchel admitted on Saturday evening: "I felt, for example, a slight headache and a little trouble through the day. I didn't sleep as well as the days before. But it's nothing that you can't handle and you can't adapt to."
Henderson's response on fairness
When asked whether he felt the high altitude was "unfair", Henderson joked: "Well the viagra helped!" He added: "The gaffer is spot on really, as players we are very adaptable and just get on with things. With the kick-off time, whether we play at 12pm or 6pm, it doesn't really bother us."
"It's about being the best version of ourselves, to be together, to compete, to give everything for each other and the nation back home. To make them proud and to try and win a football game. Everything that we can't influence like kick-off time or attitude or stuff at the hotel is not in our control, so we just need to find solutions, which we're pretty good at, and the staff are pretty good at. For us, it's about full focus on our job ahead, no excuse."
"We're ready to go and be the best version of ourselves tomorrow, if we do that we'll have a good chance."
