England fans have descended on Mexico City ahead of the Three Lions’ crunch match with the World Cup co-hosts at the imposing Azteca Stadium.
The tie will kick off at 1am UK time on Monday morning – despite talks that it would be moved forward due to bad weather.
England has a lot of history tied to the Azteca Stadium – hosting the 1986 World Cup match against Argentina, where they were knocked out by Diego Maradona‘s cheating Hand of God goal.
But today, fans are casting the heartbreak 40 years ago to the back of their mind and are raring with excitement in Mexico City.
Retired Andy Allen, from Blackburn, Lancashire, had just arrived at Mexico City airport from Atlanta in the US, after having watched England top Group L and also their dramatic 2-1 knockout win against DR Congo in the round of 32.
He said: ‘It’s going to be fantastic, I can’t wait for it, it’s going to be great, the atmosphere in there will be electric.
‘I think Mexico will be very clever and make us run around a lot and tire us out, they will be using the altitude to their advantage for this one.
‘I’ve been to all the England games so far and have tickets all the way, we just have to hold our nerve and play a bit more like we did in the second half against Croatia.’
England fans have descended on Mexico City ahead of the Three Lions’ game at the historic Azteca Stadium
The tie will kick off at 1am UK time on Monday morning – despite talks that it would be moved forward due to bad weather
England fan Alan Lewis shows a Mexico national team jersey that he wears underneath his Three Lions shirt ahead of the match
One happy couple is so fired up they said they would get married if England won the game.
Ben Hammond and Samantha Duffy were among the first followers of Thomas Tuchel’s squad to land in Mexico City also having come from watching the DR Congo game.
Samantha, 35, from Hertfordshire, said: ‘Harry Kane and Thomas Tuchel are under a lot of pressure, Ben has promised he will propose if England win the World Cup, so they had better bring it home.
‘It’s been great fun so far and if they win this game and go onto win the trophy it will be fantastic as we can get married.’
The optimistic couple have still not sourced tickets for the big game however, as Samantha continued: ‘We went to the last game in Atlanta and got in through the resale sites, but we haven’t got tickets for this one yet.
‘We will keep an eye on the websites and see what happens but at the moment they want silly money which we just can’t justify really.
‘So, we will see what happens, and if we can’t get one, just go along to the Fan Zone and watch it there. Whatever happens, it will be a fantastic atmosphere.
‘Everyone keeps saying that Ben looks a little bit like Harry Kane – so he’s my England hero.’
Quantity surveyor and Harry Kane lookalike Ben, 31, from Birmingham, was wearing pristine England trainers.
He said: ‘I was only joking when I said I’d marry Sam, but if England do win the World Cup, I will genuinely think about it. It would be great if we could take the trophy home; it’s been way too long.
‘We just decided at the last minute to come along and so flew in from Atlanta and are looking forward to getting into town and having a look round – if we could get to the match, it would be brilliant as there is so much history in that stadium.’
Offshore worker Danny Thompson, 44, from Ipswich, was raring to go as well, but seemed a little more anxious about how the match would go.
He said: ‘It will be a tough one, but we will stay positive. I’ve been to all the games so far, and the reception from everyone has been fantastic, so warm and welcoming.
‘There’s been a lot of travelling, and the logistics have been a bit of a nightmare. We’ve crossed so many states and seen so many places, but I wouldn’t change it for anything; it’s been fantastic and exceeded expectations.’
Fans of England cheer inside a bar near the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City
England fans were praised for their ‘excellent’ behaviour at the World Cup in the United state after there were no reports of Three Lions’ supporters being involved in violence or disorder
England have played six times at the Azteca, twice against Mexico and the results were a draw in 1969 and a loss in 1985
The stadium is 2,240m above sea level, holds 80,000, and will be Mexico’s 12th man. The last time they lost there was in 2013, with the unbeaten run standing at an astonishing 26 games
Also among the arrivals was former BBC North America editor Jon Sopel, who flew in from London on a packed British Airways flight.
Stepping off the 10-hour flight, John, 67, told the Mail on Sunday: ‘I managed to get tickets for the game, and my son Max is flying in from Australia, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
‘We did our first World Cup together in 2006 when he was a lad in Germany, and we did 2010 in South Africa, and we want to be here.’
Meanwhile, another England fan, who would only give his name as Matthew, 29, from Falmouth, Cornwall, said: ‘I’ve flown in straight from London and to be honest I am confident about this one, even though most of the games we have been awful but we’ve got the results.
‘I think it’s a question of getting better as the tournament progresses. We just need to play like we did against Croatia, granted we played badly the last couple of group games and the DR Congo match, so it’s time for a stellar performance from England and I’m sure it will come.
‘This one has been in the diary since the draw in December. I got my ticket for £300 through the England Travel club, and it was a no-brainer. This is a bucket list game, Mexico in the Azteca with all the history England has at the stadium, it’s going to be sensational.
‘When I was younger, it was the first thing you learned in football at school, about Maradona and the Hand of God game, and I wasn’t even born when it happened.
‘There was no way I was going to miss this game, and I also have a ticket for the next game if we get through, which could be Brazil in Miami.’
Matthew added: ‘I don’t think there will be as many England fans here as there were in America, it’s expensive, and there are hardly any tickets as the locals have them all, and to be honest, I don’t think I would part with the £4,000 minimum that’s being asked, it’s crazy prices.
‘I would be surprised if there are more than 8,000 at the match, and even that’s being optimistic, I think a few will definitely come to Mexico City for the atmosphere, and if they get lucky, they might snap up a ticket at a decent price before kick-off because that’s what happened in Atlanta.
Initially, the tickets were $1500 for the DR Congo game, but then they started coming down, and I heard people got them for $500, which is a bargain.’
The match, which kicks off at 6pm local time, will be a tough one as El Tri are ranked 10th in the world and have not lost a match so far and not conceded a goal and as a host nation have played all their games in Mexico.
England fans hold a St. George’s Cross flag near the Angel de la Independencia on Saturday
England fans are pictured cheering inside a bar near in Mexico City
One England supporter is wearing a half England and half Mexico football jersey gestures inside a bar in Mexico City
Englands fans hold up a large St George’s Cross while out in Mexico on Saturday night
The stadium is 2,240m above sea level, holds 80,000, and will be Mexico’s 12th man. The last time they lost there was in 2013, with the unbeaten run standing at an astonishing 26 games.
They have played ten World Cup games in the Azteca dating back to the tournaments in 1970 and 1986, as well as the current one, and have never lost, winning eight and drawing two, plus they kept eight clean sheets.
England have played six times at the Azteca, twice against Mexico and the results were a draw in 1969 and a loss in 1985.
Mexico is guaranteed to have a fanatical backing while England’s support will be limited to just 4,000.
Meanwhile, Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher has fuelled a war of words with one of Mexico’s biggest musicians, Fernando Olvera, after the Mancunian legend wrote that England would win 5-0.
Olvera said:’ The Oasis singer said Mexico is going to lose to England 5-0. Come on… no way, get real, dude! 5-0? Calm down. See you Sunday, let’s see how we do.’
While another local who posted a video of another Mexican classic singer was sarcastically told by Liam: ‘I sing that in the shower first thing every morning.’
The Wonderwall star added:’I just want to clarify one thing: obviously I was joking when I said England was going to beat Mexico 5-0. I think it’ll be more like 3-0 in favour of England.’
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