England will face Mexico in the World Cup last 16 should they beat DR Congo this evening. Thomas Tuchel's side's next opponents were confirmed overnight after Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 in a match delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Match Details and Conditions
Goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez secured the win for the co-hosts. The Three Lions now face Mexico in the Mexican capital on Sunday evening at 6pm local time, which is 1am on Monday morning for UK viewers. The match will be a test for Harry Kane and his teammates, who must contend with the heat and altitude of the Azteca, which sits more than 7,000 feet above sea level. These conditions can cause shortness of breath, increased heart rates, and fatigue for players unaccustomed to such environments.
Mexico's Home Record
Mexico has a formidable record at the Azteca, having won 70 of their 89 competitive games there and losing only twice. This statistic highlights the challenge facing England.
Declan Rice's Mindset
England star Declan Rice emphasized the need for a focused mindset as the knockout rounds begin. Referring to the "it's not done" memes from Arsenal's title race, Rice joked, "It could have gone either way. That would have lived with me forever." He added, "I think there are going to be moments like that in the rest of the tournament where you’re going to have setbacks in games, there’s going to be games where there are going to be shocks, there’s going to be moments where we have to get through games in tough periods." Rice stressed that the mentality shifts in the knockout stages: "If you break up the tournament into little blocks, the first block is the group stage. And then now’s the start [of knock-outs], the round of 32, the round of 16 – you need to look at these two blocks of games, that are going to be really tough against really good opposition and teams that want to beat England."
