2026-07-02 08:55:00

Thomas Tuchel says it is “impossible” for England to prepare for the altitude in Mexico City as they take on the co-hosts at the World Cup.

The Three Lions secured a last 16 tie against Mexico on Sunday (05.07.26) after beating DR Congo 2-1 in the last 32 and the coach admits that his players won’t get the chance to acclimatise for the game that will take place more than 7,000 feet above sea level at the fabled Azteca Stadium.

Tuchel said: “I’m just coming from this match, and trying to enjoy, but it is maybe one of the most beautiful fixtures, most exciting fixtures than you can have.

“You play against Mexico in the Azteca, and there will be a lot, a lot, a lot of obstacles waiting for us.

“Not to mention the altitude will be, of course, a big disadvantage, because we cannot physically adapt to it in four days. It’s just impossible and more obstacles will maybe come.

“But we are ready for that, we need it maybe. We have the ideal platform now to genuinely believe that we are ready for that, and when the going gets tough, that we will find the answers.”

Tuchel did stress that the England players had been adapting to the climate since arriving in the US for their pre-tournament training camp in Florida.

The German coach said: “We came very early to the country, we came very early to the US, and banked good heat training into our bodies. That was basically the idea behind, to acclimatise, so the players have a lot, a lot of heat training already in their bodies.

“That would help them, so I think the heat and the humidity will not be the problem for us. We are used to that. We are used to that from training times, and we are used to it from our prep camp in Florida.

“My understanding is that we cannot adapt to the altitude. That is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have. It just takes too much time.

“We have only three days in between this match. This is physically just not possible to adapt to the altitude, which is quite high.

“We knew that before, so this is just something, it’s just a disadvantage, with which we will have to deal, and I think we showed the attitude that we are ready for that, and from there we go.”

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