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At one stage on Wednesday evening, it looked as if England were set to exit the tournament in humiliating fashion.
Thomas Tuchel’s men trailed DR Congo for almost 70 minutes at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but were bailed out – as they so often are – by the miraculous goalscoring capabilities of Harry Kane. After cancelling out Brian Cipenga’s early opener with a textbook header, Kane rifled in his second as extra-time approached to spare England’s blushes and send the plucky Africans home.
Having also laboured to unconvincing results in their group stage meetings with Ghana and Panama, the Three Lions need to make a major improvement – and fast.
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Meanwhile, Mexico have enjoyed a perfect start to their World Cup campaign. Alongside current favourites France and defending champions Argentina, El Tri were one of only three teams to secure maximum points in all of their group stage contests. A relatively comfortable 2-0 win over Ecuador secured safe passage through to the last sixteen, the stage in which they’ve been eliminated in seven of the last eight World Cups.
Home advantage has undoubtedly helped the Mexicans, who are yet to venture into the United States or Canada this summer. That will all change if they manage to knock out England during the early hours of Monday morning, as the corresponding quarter-final for this tie will be staged at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
For the third time this tournament, the BBC will provide exclusive live coverage of England in action. Viewers back home are set to remain awake until an extremely unsociable hour, as kick-off is scheduled for 01:00 BST. The build-up commences on BBC One at 00:10, with a familiar punditry team set to preview the match alongside host Kelly Cates.
Mexico v England: Key information
Date: Monday, July 6th
Kick-off time: 01:00 BST
Venue: Estadio Azteca
Referee: Alireza Faghani
TV Channels/Live stream: BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website
Odds: Match Result – Mexico: 11/5, Draw: 9/4, England: 13/10
To qualify – Mexico: 6/5, England: 4/6
Odds provided by bet365
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Mexico team news
Santiago Giménez was involved in a late altercation with Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié, which saw the two players butt heads for several seconds. The Arsenal defender was subsequently sent off for covering his mouth during a heated exchange of words, but Giménez emerged from the incident unscathed.
Having netted twice in the tournament already, Raúl Jiménez will be hopeful of continuing his goalscoring purple patch. The veteran marksman – who recently sealed his return to Wolves following a three-year spell with Fulham – is set to lead the line alongside Roberto Alvarado and Julián Quiñones.
Yet to celebrate his eighteenth birthday, Gilberto Mora became the youngest Mexican in history to start a World Cup match when he lined up against Czechia last week. Javier Aguirre kept him in his starting XI for Wednesday’s meeting with Ecuador, so don’t be surprised if the promising playmaker gets the nod once again.
Edson Álvarez provided defensive cover on a couple of occasions during the group stage, helping Mexico to keep three consecutive clean sheets ahead of another shut-out in the round of 32. Although he spent last season on loan at Turkish giants Fenerbahçe, the West Ham star has faced plenty of England’s current squad during his time in the Premier League. Therefore, Álvarez may be asked to utilise this experience in his more familiar deep-lying midfield role.
Mexico predicted lineup v England (4-1-2-3)
Coach: Javier Aguirre
Raúl Rangel (GK); Jorge Sánchez, César Montes, Johan Vásquez, Jesús Gallardo; Edson Álvarez; Gilberto Mora, Luis Romo; Roberto Alvarado, Raúl Jiménez, Julián Quiñones
England team news
Previously a niggling headache, England’s situation on the flanks has now turned into a full-blown crisis for Thomas Tuchel. No less than three full-backs have suffered injuries since crossing the Atlantic, while all four wingers are failing to provide sufficient creativity.
After straining his hamstring against Ghana, Reece James looked set to be out until around the time of the quarter-finals. It now seems as if the Chelsea skipper is recovering ahead of schedule, but will need to pass a late fitness test if he hopes to feature on Monday.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah is in a similar boat, having twisted his ankle during last weekend’s nervy 2-0 triumph over Panama. Before these two incidents occurred, Tino Livramento developed a calf problem at England’s Kansas City training base and subsequently returned home.
Neither Marcus Rashford nor Noni Madueke covered themselves in glory last time out, but the Arsenal attacker did at least manage to skip past Congolese left-back Arthur Masuaku on several occasions. Anthony Gordon advanced his cause by making a major impact from the bench, claiming two assists to help dig England out of an extremely deep hole.
Despite being seen applying an ice pack to his left hamstring in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium dugouts, Declan Rice is expected to be available to face Mexico.
England predicted lineup v Mexico (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Thomas Tuchel
Jordan Pickford (GK); Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Nico O'Reilly; Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice; Noni Madueke, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
After screening England’s 0-0 draw with Ghana and the recent narrow victory over DR Congo, the BBC has secured broadcasting rights for this Monday’s encounter in the Mexican capital. Resident commentator Guy Mowbray will be positioned in the gantry alongside Alan Shearer, who only made four World Cup appearances throughout his glittering career.
A live stream of the match will be available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport app, with users able to access an extended highlights reel on both of these platforms following the referee’s final whistle.
Head-to-head record
The first and only past World Cup meeting between these two countries forms part of the most successful chapter in the English national team's history. Sir Alf Ramsey’s side recorded a 2-0 triumph over Mexico during the group stages of the 1966 World Cup, which ended with Bobby Moore hoisting the Jules Rimet trophy aloft in front of a packed Wembley.
England have won four of their six clashes with Mexico since then, although all of these victories came in friendlies. The most recent fixture in this sequence took place in May 2010, when goals from Ledley King, Peter Crouch, and Glen Johnson helped the hosts claim a 3-1 win. Guillermo Franco netted Mexico’s consolation, just a handful of days after ending his short stint with West Ham.
No international team has ever played more World Cup games at a single venue than Mexico, who are ready to grace the Estadio Azteca for an eleventh occasion. El Tri boast a spectacular record at this iconic arena, having avoided defeat in their ten World Cup matches here (W8/D2) and only losing two of 89 previous outings overall. Therefore, the Euro 2024 runners-up should brace themselves for a stern test.
There’s another reason why England fans might currently be feeling nervy. It’s almost exactly 40 years since the Three Lions last descended on the Estadio Azteca, but that visit procured a gut-wrenching loss thanks to the notorious antics of Diego Maradona. Four minutes after controversially punching the ball into Peter Shilton’s net in an act that would later be dubbed ‘the Hand of God,’ the diminutive Argentinian scored one of the greatest goals of all time. Maradona’s mazy run and composed finish put the South Americans into an unassailable 2-0 lead, leaving England to lament a disappointing quarter-final exit.
Mexico v England: Odds
Match Result
To qualify
The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change. All odds provided by bet365.
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