Complaints over match conditions were not properly addressed by Fifa; Mexico manager rejects claims that his side have the advantage
Thomas Tuchel has urged England to stay calm and shut out the noise before Sunday’s World Cup last-16 meeting with Mexico.
England arrived in Mexico City on Friday after Fifa considered, but ultimately rejected, moving the kick-off at the Azteca Stadium forward by six hours because of concerns over severe thunderstorms and fan safety. The Football Association also brought the squad to the capital a day earlier than usual to help them acclimatise to the city’s 2,240-metre altitude.
“Like so often, it is so much noise,” Tuchel said. “When you are inside of the bubble, it is actually quite calm, quite focused.
“And the bigger the stages, the bigger the noises, the calmer the preparation. I think the players were not even aware of a possible change of kick-offs and just this example shows you to not lose your heads.
“We cannot influence it. Three-and-a-half hours later, you land in Mexico and the kick-off time stayed the same. It is just not worth losing our heads. Altitude, it is what it is. Home crowd, it is what it is. It is not in our favour.
“We need to overcome obstacles but we have the spirit, we have the commitment, the pure will and the glue between the team to overcome these things. That’s why I am positive.”
England trained on Saturday at Pumas UNAM’s training complex, where Tuchel admitted the effects of the altitude were immediately noticeable.
“You know what, we feel it,” Tuchel said. “We feel it even if we don’t train. I felt, for example, a slight headache in the hotel room through the day. Didn’t sleep as well as the days before but nothing that you cannot handle and cannot adapt [to].
“I think the players felt it in the first minutes of the training session and the longer it went, they could cope with it better. It is just what it is. We cannot physically adapt.”
Tuchel expects Mexico to make an aggressive start, pointing to the advantage the hosts often enjoy in the opening stages of matches at altitude.
“I think it is not a coincidence that Mexico starts their matches normally at home very strong, very front-footed, very aggressively because I think the first 15-20 minutes will be maybe the toughest for us,” Tuchel said. “Once we overcome that and we experienced it a little bit already today, I think we are in a good place.”
England had hoped to keep the location of their team hotel private after Ecuador complained to Fifa about fireworks outside their accommodation before their defeat by Mexico in the previous round. Heavy security has been deployed around England’s hotel, although Tuchel said he had no concerns about further disruption.
“We had no issues last night,” he said. “I think Fifa took care of the situation, and we have security around the hotel, so we expect a good night of sleep.
“I don’t want to talk about problems that don’t exist yet. What I have experienced until now was very respectful and was very emotional, but also very supportive towards our team.”
On his part, Mexico manager Javier Aguirre dismissed suggestions that the conditions at the stadium would hand his side an advantage.
“English players, historically speaking, are pretty nimble and fast,” Aguirre said. “They have major players who play both inside and outside the country, so they’re powerful, physically speaking. They have great players.
“As for the altitude? I don’t focus on that, it’s 11 vs 11, the referee is there, so I don’t think about things like that. We’re both going to try and score in each other’s nets.”
