If any win will do then England do not have to worry about putting on an exhibition of attacking football against Mexico. They have no time to acclimatise to the altitude in Mexico City and will have to box clever if they are to handle the challenge of playing at more than 7,000ft (2,200m) above sea level at the Azteca Stadium.
No wonder Thomas Tuchel predicted this World Cup would be defined by suffering. England have prepared for the heat in the US but they are about to step into new territory. Mexico, rampant in their last-32 tie against Ecuador, are close to unstoppable at the Azteca. They have lost there twice in 89 competitive games, will be backed by a passionate crowd and have a physical advantage because of the altitude.
Is this where England’s journey ends? Mexican World Cups have not been kind to them. Their defence of the trophy in 1970 ended when they lost from 2-0 up to West Germany in the last eight in Léon. Then came Diego Maradona at the Azteca in 1986. It was another quarter-final exit for England and there are lessons to learn from that tournament as Tuchel tries to work out the best way to take on Mexico.
The answer is using the tactic that has so often disrupted Tuchel’s England: stifle Mexico with the dreaded low block. The worst way to approach this game would be allowing it to become chaotic. England cannot give Mexico space to run in behind. Mexico have pace on the flanks and would love to play against a high line.
England do not look ready for that kind of battle. Declan Rice is not at full speed in midfield and the right side is a problem. England’s pressing was all over the place during the early stages of their last-32 tie against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tuchel has talked about wanting to play like a Premier League side but the task here is to play like the most negative Premier League side imaginable. Hit Mexico with Total Arsenalball. Slow the game down. Take the maximum time over every throw-in. Be José Mourinho’s Chelsea at Anfield in 2014. “They want us to be the clowns in the circus,” Mourinho told his players before they wrecked Liverpool’s title hopes with a counterpunching 2-0 win. “We are not going to be the clowns.”
Step back, then. Look at how England prepared for the 1986 World Cup by taking part in a summer tournament in Mexico in 1985. The conditions were a shock to the system. The heat was one thing but the altitude was on another level. England were not ready when they played Mexico at the Azteca. “Before we played Mexico Kenny Sansom and I tried carrying our bags up three flights of stairs because the lifts were occupied,” Glenn Hoddle, who was part of the squad, wrote in his autobiography. “We had to stop twice because we were gasping for air.”
England conceded early and lost 1-0. They had already lost 2-1 to Italy and had to tweak their style. “We weren’t able to play the English way,” Hoddle continued. “We stopped trying to press and looked to contain our energy. We finished on a high, beating West Germany 3-0.”
However, England reverted to type at the World Cup. Sir Bobby Robson’s side made a poor start in the group stage, losing to Portugal and drawing with Morocco. They were not in Mexico City at first, so the heat was a bigger issue than the altitude. Hoddle remembers hallucinating at the end of the Morocco game. He couldn’t work out which end England were attacking.
It took a team meeting at a barbecue in Monterrey to force a change of direction. The players agreed that they had to stop trying to play a high press. Robson and Don Howe, the assistant coach, took some convincing. They wanted England to harry Poland in their final group game. They thought the team would be straying from the “real strengths of English football” but player power won out. England dropped off against Poland and reached the last 16 thanks to a 3-0 win.
The Poland game was in San Nicolás but England’s more conservative style worked when they faced Paraguay at the Azteca in the last 16 and won 3-0 again. It took Maradona to bundle England out in the last eight.
Forty years on, England need to forget about imposing themselves on Mexico. This is what Javier Aguirre wants. England have to silence the crowd. They will lose if they let the game become emotional. The smarter choice is to make Mexico feel the pressure.
England need to play it like a European game at an intimidating venue. Be compact and controlled. Focus on set pieces. Rice’s deliveries have to hit the mark. Sit deep, counterattack, use Harry Kane’s through balls to release Anthony Gordon on the break. There is an argument, too, to remove a winger and use the diligent Morgan Rogers as an extra block in midfield. Tuchel should also consider moving Ezri Konsa to right-back and bringing in the experience of John Stones in central defence.
If England can manage the situation and make it through the opening stages unscathed their individual quality should make a difference. Mexico’s striker Raúl Jiménez is a dangerous, clever player but will be playing in the Championship next season. Kane has 72 goals for club and country this season.
There is, of course, an irony to telling England not to lift the handbrake. Isn’t that the opposite of what we want? Isn’t Tuchel supposed to cast off the shackles? Isn’t the anti-Southgate supposed to unleash his wealth of attacking talent? Not here. England are not going to invent a new way of playing in the Azteca. Instead they need to lean into their traditional tournament role. They need to relish the stodginess. Be Ghana. Be Panama. Be boring.
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