Thomas Tuchel - England ready for hostile Azteca atmosphere

The Three Lions are chasing their first world title since 1966 but come up against an El Tri side riding a four-match winning streak and are backed by a passionate home crowd.

Tuchel admitted his players must embrace the occasion if they are to overcome Mexico and keep their World Cup dream alive.

Asked if the 1986 defeat to Argentina at the World Cup through Maradona’s controversial ‘hand of God’ goal at the same venue would serve as motivation for England, Tuchel explained why this was irrelevant. 

"Everyone remembers that iconic goal in this stadium and of course it was a huge disadvantage for the English team and it maybe still hurts, but we are not here for revenge that will not make sense. We are here to write our own chapter and we are ready to go for it tomorrow."

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Tuchel also spoke highly of Mexico and their improvement under his counterpart Javier Aguirre, but insisted they are capable of progressing.

The England mentor also touched on the earlier confusion around kick-off time for their round of 16 clash with Mexico, which will now still go ahead at 6pm local time as originally planned, instead of being moved due to the weather forecast. 

"That is something that is not worth us losing our heads over. As for the altitude, it is what it is, we must overcome it."