The Sports Guru
England's World Cup last-16 tie against Mexico is being fought before a ball is kicked, on two fronts neither side of the touchline: sleep and oxygen. This covers the BBC's reporting on England's decision to keep their Mexico City hotel undisclosed after Ecuador were deliberately kept awake by Mexico supporters, the ear plugs and white noise machines being offered to the squad, the schedule change that brings the players into the capital two days early, and Thomas Tuchel's blunt admission that the altitude is a problem he cannot train his way out of.
England's preparation for Sunday's World Cup last-16 tie against Mexico has come down to two things no coach can control from a touchline: how well his players sleep, and how much oxygen there is when they wake up. The BBC reports that Thomas Tuchel's side are taking deliberate precautions before arriving in Mexico City to stop boisterous locals wrecking the squad's rest, while Tuchel himself has conceded that playing at 2,240 metres above sea level hands Mexico an advantage his team cannot cancel. The match kicks off at 01:00 BST on Monday morning, live on BBC One and iPlayer.
The Ecuador warning
England's caution is not paranoia. It is a case study with a complaint number attached. Mexico's last-32 opponents Ecuador were deliberately kept awake by Mexico supporters, who gathered outside the team hotel late at night with loudspeakers, horns and motorcycles, and Ecuador lodged a complaint with FIFA over it. Their squad had been staying at the Westin Hotel in Mexico City, a location that proved no secret at all.
England intend to do better, keeping their own base undisclosed, though the BBC reports an internal concern that the address will eventually leak on social media anyway. A hotel can be kept off a press release. It cannot be kept off a phone. So the contingency planning has moved to the bedrooms: players and staff who have not packed their own sleeping devices, such as ear plugs or sleep bands, are to be offered natural sleep remedies or white noise audio machines, the sort of kit normally bought by parents of newborns rather than international footballers.
Two nights in the capital
The squad are due to arrive in Mexico City on Friday, giving them two nights in the capital before the game. That is a change of habit. England have mostly been landing in host cities the night before their matches, training instead at their Kansas base and flying out late. FIFA rules at this stage of the tournament require teams to hold a part-open training session in the locality the day before the game, which England had been doing in Kansas before travelling. Now they will train in Mexico instead.
Two extra nights in a bed someone may be trying to keep you out of is an odd sort of upgrade, but the arithmetic behind it is about the air, not the mattress. Every hour spent at elevation is an hour of adjustment, even if the science says the window is far too short to matter much.
The problem Tuchel cannot fix
The altitude is the part of this Tuchel has stopped pretending about. Mexico City sits at an average elevation of approximately 2,240 metres, where the thinner air means less oxygen for players who have not acclimatised, and ideally athletes need a week or two living at that level for their bodies to generate the extra red blood cells that make the difference. England have three days between matches. Mexico, by contrast, have played all four of their World Cup games in high-altitude conditions, three at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and one in Guadalajara, itself around 1,566 metres up.
"The altitude will be a big disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it," Tuchel said. "And in four days, it's just impossible. More obstacles may come, but we are ready for that. My understanding is that we cannot adapt to the altitude. That is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have."
He went on: "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, which is quite high. We knew that before. This is just something with which we will have to deal with. And I think we showed the attitude that we are ready for that."
There is something quietly refreshing about a manager declining to sell the disadvantage as an opportunity. England's tournament so far has offered both faces of this team, the ruthless side that put four past Croatia and the flatter one that laboured to a goalless draw with Ghana, and neither of those performances came with the air rationed. Mexico, who announced themselves in the group stage with a 3-0 dismantling of the Czech Republic, will be playing their fifth straight game in conditions their lungs were built for, in front of a crowd that has already shown what it is prepared to do to a visiting team's sleep. England can pack ear plugs against the noise. The air is another matter, and Tuchel, to his credit, is not pretending otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
England play Mexico in their World Cup last-16 tie in Mexico City on Sunday, with a 01:00 BST kick-off on Monday morning for UK viewers. The match is live on BBC One and iPlayer. England's squad are due to arrive in Mexico City on Friday, two nights before the game.
Because of what happened to Ecuador. Mexico's last-32 opponents lodged a complaint with FIFA after their squad, staying at the Westin Hotel in Mexico City, were deliberately kept awake late at night by Mexico supporters using loudspeakers, horns and motorcycles outside the hotel. England want their base undisclosed, though the BBC reports concern that the location will eventually leak on social media.
Significant, by their own manager's admission. Mexico City sits at an average elevation of approximately 2,240 metres, meaning less available oxygen, and proper acclimatisation ideally takes one to two weeks so the body can generate more red blood cells. England have three days between matches. Thomas Tuchel called the altitude "a huge advantage that Mexico will have" and said adapting in the time available is physically impossible.
They are arriving two days before the game rather than the night before. England had mostly been training at their Kansas base and flying to host cities late, but FIFA rules at the knockout stage require a part-open training session in the match locality the day before the game, so England will now train in Mexico. Players and staff without their own ear plugs or sleep bands are being offered natural sleep remedies or white noise machines.
Sources: England's sleep precautions and undisclosed hotel, the Ecuador complaint to FIFA over noise outside the Westin Hotel, the white noise machines and sleep aids, the Friday arrival and revised training plan, the altitude figures for Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico's four high-altitude fixtures, the Sunday (01:00 BST Monday) kick-off on BBC One and iPlayer, and all Thomas Tuchel quotes, as reported by Sami Mokbel for BBC Sport.
