Harry Kane has expressed fears that Mexico will have a significant unfair advantage when England face the World Cup co-hosts in their last 16 knockout clash, due to the high altitude of the Azteca stadium. The England captain rescued his side from the brink of elimination against DR Congo last night, scoring two late goals to secure a famous comeback win after trailing to Brian Kibambe Cipenga's early strike.
Altitude concerns
The legendary Azteca stadium, which hosted the World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986, sits at an altitude of approximately 2,240 metres above sea level. Mexico have lost only two out of 89 competitive matches at this venue, making it a graveyard for international opponents. England's players have little to no experience playing at such altitude, and Kane highlighted the lack of time to adapt.
'My understanding is we cannot adapt to the altitude,' said Kane after his latest goalscoring heroics. 'It's a huge advantage Mexico have. There's not enough time. We knew that before. It's just a disadvantage with which we will have to deal.'
Tuchel echoes concerns
England manager Thomas Tuchel echoed those sentiments, noting that his side only have three days to recover from their match against DR Congo before facing Mexico. 'The altitude will be a big disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it,' said Tuchel. 'It just takes too much time. We have only three days in between these matches. It's physically just not possible to adapt to the altitude.'
Research suggests athletes competing at high altitude should spend a week or two living at that level to allow their bodies to acclimatise and generate more red blood cells. England's squad is due to arrive in Mexico City only two days before the game.
'That is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have,' added Tuchel. 'More obstacles may come, but we are ready for that. This is just something with which we will have to deal. And I think we showed the attitude that we are ready for that.'
