The England team will face the biggest challenge since the beginning of the 2026 World Cup when facing host Mexico in the round of 16 at the Azteca Stadium.
Mexico has an extremely impressive home record at Azteca, losing only 2 out of a total of 89 official matches. Meanwhile, coach Thomas Tuchel is having a headache with the personnel problem in the right-back position before the match considered the biggest test of the "Three Lions" at the tournament.
Challenge named Azteca
Tuchel must find a solution to the problem of balancing between attack and defense, especially when England's defense has repeatedly revealed insecurity since the beginning of the tournament.
Statistics show that England only achieved a total expected goal index (xG) of 2.3 after 4 matches, ranking third from the bottom among the remaining teams of the tournament. However, this number does not fully reflect the problems of the "Three Lions", because they have allowed the opponent to create many dangerous opportunities.
The England team also faced many difficulties against deep-lying defensive opponents such as Ghana and Panama. Conversely, when Croatia actively pushed up, Tuchel's team showed the most attractive attacking football since the beginning of the tournament and scored 4 goals.
However, they also conceded twice in that match, showing that the defense is still a major weakness.
Not only facing Mexico
England not only has to face 11 Mexican players but also must resist the pressure from nearly 90,000 spectators at the Azteca stadium.
Azteca has long been famous as one of the most fearsome stadiums in the world. Entrances to the stadium, walkways from buses to dressing rooms and stand designs all create an extremely stressful atmosphere for away teams.
Many experts who have worked here believe that the key for England is to stand firm in the first 15-20 minutes, when Mexico usually focuses all their strength on attacking.
If they cannot score early, the home team may decline in fitness and pressing intensity in the remainder of the match.
Right-back problem
In theory, England possesses a more quality squad than Mexico. However, the right-back position is becoming coach Tuchel's biggest headache.
Tino Livramento has left the team due to injury, Reece James has not been able to return, and Jarrell Quansah is still uncertain about his ability to play. Meanwhile, Mexico's most dangerous spearhead is Julian Quinones, who plays on the left wing and has scored 3 goals at the 2026 World Cup.
To deal with this player, Tuchel is likely to continue to use Declan Rice in the right-back position as in the match against DRC Congo.
This idea originated from assistant Anthony Barry after Djed Spence encountered many difficulties and had to leave the field. If that happens, Rice will become the fifth right-back that the England team uses after only 4 matches at the World Cup.
However, this is not the Arsenal midfielder's forte position. The last time he played right-back at club level was about 20 minutes in the match against West Ham in May, before coach Mikel Arteta quickly brought him back to midfield.
The match between Mexico and England takes place at 7:00 AM on July 6th (Vietnam time).
