Overview
The England team will return to the Azteca stadium - a place associated with one of the most painful memories in the history of the "Three Lions" - when facing host Mexico in the 1/8 round of the 2026 World Cup.
It has been 40 years since the 1986 World Cup quarter-final match between England and Argentina on this very stadium. Diego Maradona scored the famous "Hand of God" goal before completing a double with a classic solo, making Gary Lineker's goal to narrow the score only have honorful meaning in England's 1-2 defeat.
This time, coach Thomas Tuchel's team will face another equally difficult challenge when facing Mexico. The co-host team is in very high form and has an almost invincible record at the Azteca stadium.
In the round of 16, England had to work very hard to defeat DRC Congo 2-1 thanks to a late double from captain Harry Kane.
The Bayern Munich striker continues to show his dangerous aerial ability. 3 of Kane's 4 goals at the 2026 World Cup came from headers, bringing his total headed goals at World Cups to four. Since 1966, only Miroslav Klose (7) and Gerd Muller (5) have scored more headed goals than Kane.
If they overcome Mexico, England will have their second time in history to reach the quarter-finals of three consecutive World Cups, after a series of achievements in 1962, 1966 and 1970.
In the opposite direction, Mexico is having the most successful World Cup in history. Coach Javier Aguirre's team won all 3 group stage matches before defeating Ecuador 2-0 to win a ticket to the round of 16.
Azteca Stadium continues to be a major support for El Tri. Mexico has never lost a match here at World Cups with a record of 8 wins and 2 draws after 10 appearances.
In all competitions, Mexico has only lost 2 out of a total of 89 official matches at the Azteca stadium, against Costa Rica in 2001 and Honduras in 2013. Currently, they have a 22-match unbeaten streak here with 16 wins and 6 draws.
If they continue to keep a clean sheet against England, Mexico will become the second team in history not to concede in the first 5 matches of a World Cup, after Italy at the 1990 World Cup.
The home team's attack is also in high form with Julian Quinones being the biggest hope. This striker has directly contributed to 4 goals at the 2026 World Cup, including 3 goals and one assist, equaling the best record of a Mexican player at a World Cup since 1966.
Head-to-head record
This confrontation is only the second time England and Mexico have faced each other in a World Cup.
The only previous meeting took place in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup in England. At that time, the "Three Lions" won 2-0 thanks to goals from Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt, before winning the world championship for the first and only time in history.
In terms of head-to-head record, England is clearly dominant. They won 4 consecutive matches against Mexico in the period from 1986 to 2010, although all were just friendly matches.
Score prediction: Mexico 1-2 England
The match between Mexico and England takes place at 7:00 AM on July 6th (Vietnam time).
