The Official Mexico Match Thread (Sponsored by 1.00am kick-off "for all your Monday morning needs")

The wave of relief around the nation was palpable as Harry Kane's 75th minute header sneaked past the resolute Lionel Mpasi in the DRC goal to level the scores at one apiece on Wednesday evening. Until then it had been another hugely underwhelming England performance against a solid but unspectacular side ranked 46th in the world. The concession of an early goal highlighted all too starkly the makeshift nature of our defence, as the lively Cipenga was afforded plenty of time and space to drill the ball past Pickford at his near post. Until the first advert break, England had been as poor as I can ever recall in tournament football, quite the achievement when you consider the litany of awful performances we've churned out across our history.

Tuchel's side huffed and puffed trying to find a way back into the contest, Mpsai blocking everything aimed anywhere near him and the Leopards missing a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 just before the break that would surely have ended our hopes and the manager's reign in charge. Cue the arrival of Gordon and Saka for Madueke and the disappointing Rashford and we started to look more dangerous. Given the chances he'd saved, Mpasi might be disappointed to have let possibly the easiest past him when Kane rose in the 75th minute. From that point onwards there was likely to only be one winner, the deflated DRC having given their all as hero Kane showed why he is one of our very few genuinely world class players as he turned, drove wide, before wrapping his foot round a shot that was fairly lashed into the roof of the net to kill the African's dreams.

And so onto Mexico and a trip to the world famous Azteca Stadium and what will surely be a vociferous atmosphere as the co-hosts look to make the quarter finals of the World Cup for the third time, all as hosts. Mexico are on quite the run, winning every game at the tournament so far without conceding and are unbeaten in their last 12 matches since a friendly defeat to Paraguay in November 2025. Backed by a partisan crowd and with an enviable record at a stadium 2200m above sea level, we're going to need to rediscover the form we showed in the second 45 against Croatia to even think about reaching the quarter finals.

The game is already shrouded in an element of controversy given the proposed, then rescinded, change to the kick-off time. The proposal allegedly arose due to the threat of thunderstorms, although you wonder whether this is the real reason given the overwhelming level of financial greed that has infected elements of this tournament. Whatever the real story, millions of England fans will be wondering how to approach this game with an inconvenient 1am Monday morning start, an early nap? Powering through? Waking up early to watch the re-run while avoiding all technology that might spoil the result?  For my own part, I'm donning my big boy pants and watching from the start as nature intended.

The England players may be operating on a similar lack of sleep, their arrival in Mexico not being quite as secretive at they may have hoped, with fireworks, mariachi bands, car horns and many other noise making devices being employed by the Mexican fans in a bid to keep the players awake.

On the plus side for England is the news that Quansah is fit to return to the defence, he's definitely a better option than the maligned Spence. John Stones made a late sub appearance last time out and could offer the defensive experience needed in a high pressure environment. In addition, Gordon finally looked to have arrived at the tournament with his invaluable contributions to both goals against the DRC. Rashford's dismal performance on Wednesday will likely see him benched.

The Mexicans have looked good going forwards, while we have looked ropey at the back. However,  it may be true to say that El Tri have not exactly faced the stiffest of opposition so far, should we finally turn it on in the rain we absolutely do have the quality to quieten the home crowd and leave the opposition chasing the game.

Tonight is the tenth fixture between the two nations. England have won six, with a solitary draw and two Mexican victories. For the highlights we go back to our only competitive meeting in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup. If memory serves, I'm fairly sure things panned out alright for us at that tournament after the 2-0 group win. It is worth noting our two defeats have both come in fixtures played in Mexico.

However (and whenever) you're watching tonight, I hope it's more enjoyable than the last three games have been and that we still have a stake in the tournament as we crawl into work (or whatever it is you retired gimmers do to fill your days) bleary eyed tomorrow morning.

COME ON ENGLAND!!!