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Who: Mexico vs England
Contents: 2026 FIFA World Cup – Round of 16
Location: Azteca Stadium, Mexico City, Mexico
Date and time: Sunday, July 5th, 6:00 PM (00:00 GMT Monday)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 21:00 GMT before the live text commentary stream.
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On a stormy night in Mexico City, Mexico needed two goals to break its 40-year curse of winning the World Cup finals. Moments later, more than a million Mexicans took to the streets to celebrate, and excitement increased even further when it was announced that England would be the next opponents for the 2026 World Cup.
A huge round of 16 clash awaits each team at the iconic Azteca Stadium, the fortress-like home of tournament co-host Mexico. It’s the same venue where Diego Maradona’s famous ‘Hand of God’ goal saw the Three Lions controversially lose to Argentina in the quarter-finals in 1986 and be eliminated from the tournament.
Come Sunday, the two sides will collide, and so will their long histories.
Al Jazeera tells you everything about Mexico vs England.
How did Mexico and England reach the last 16?
Mexico leads Group A with nine points, maintaining a perfect record by defeating South Africa, South Korea and the Czech Republic. El Tri then defeated Ecuador 2-0 in the last 32, winning the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986.
England topped Group L with seven points after wins over Croatia and Panama and a goalless draw with Ghana. They advanced to the last 16 with a late come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
‘Proper World Cup Match’: Focus on elevation and Aztecs
With the challenges of playing at high altitude, the risk of bad weather, and scheduling issues, the run up to Mexico vs. England was eventful to say the least.
Much of the attention was focused on how the Aztec pitch, located 2,240 meters (7,350 feet) above sea level, could literally take England’s breath away.
The ball can travel faster and farther, and players may find themselves running out of breath for a moment. There’s also the small problem of a raucous Mexican crowd that knows a thing or two about creating a hostile atmosphere.
Despite the home team advantage, England enjoy the chance to play at the Aztecs, hosts of the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals. Forty years on, this venue still holds a place in the hearts of several generations of English football fans, thanks to Maradona’s spectacular (albeit highly controversial) performance against the Three Lions in Mexico City.
“I immediately felt it was a match worthy of tomorrow’s World Cup,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said at Saturday’s pre-match press conference.
“We’ve known that for a while. We’re in an iconic location, an iconic stadium. You can see it as soon as you walk in here and see the excitement and the emotion.”
England entered the World Cup with dreams of winning a major title for 60 years. However, after four matches, England still have their place in fourth place in the FIFA world rankings, and it is no exaggeration to say that they struggled through the group stage and needed a late miracle after losing and drawing against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
There’s a lot of talk about off-field factors, but ultimately it’s the action on the field, the 11-on-11 game, that will decide a team’s fate. Mexico coach Javier Aguirre believes so.
“They (England) have key players who play at home and abroad,” said Aguirre, who is aiming to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time in 40 years.
“They’re physically pretty powerful and great players.”
Mexico vs England predictions
The Opta supercomputer gives England a 40.6 per cent chance of winning in regulation time, compared to 31.5 per cent for Mexico.
The model estimates a 27.9% chance that a game will go into overtime and possibly be penalized.
What time is Mexico vs England?
Mexico: TUDN, Canal 9, Canal 5, Las Estrellas, TV AZTECA, Vix (6pm CST) UK: BBC One, BBC iPlayer (1am Monday BST) US: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (7pm ET)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
Who will the winner face in the quarterfinals?
The winner of Mexico vs. England will face either Brazil or Norway in the quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday, July 11.
Mexico vs. England: Head-to-head
The last-16 encounter will be the second time England and Mexico have met in a World Cup contest.
The first meeting between the two dates back to the 1966 World Cup. England defeated Mexico 2-0 in the group match to win their only world title to date.
England won four consecutive games against Mexico between 1986 and 2010, all of which were friendly matches.
Mexico vs England: Team news
England defenders Jarrell Quansah (ankle) and Reece James (hamstring) are out with injuries.
No injury concerns were reported at the Mexico camp.
Expected lineup for Mexico
(4-3-3): Rangel (goalie). Sanchez, Montes, Vazquez, Gallardo. Mola, Lila, Lomo. Alvardo, Jimenez, Quinones
England’s expected line-up
(4-2-3-1): Pickford (goalkeeper); Spence, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly. Anderson, Rice. Saka, Bellingham, Gordon. Kane
