England takes on Mexico as Brazil meets Norway in knockout stage

England faces Mexico in a big World Cup match at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland and Norway hope to surprise Brazil as teams fight for spots in the quarter-finals.

Just a day after France and Morocco secured their places in the last eight, two more spots are up for grabs in the round-of-16 matches happening in Mexico City and New Jersey.

England’s match with Mexico is one of the most awaited games of the tournament. The Three Lions are back at the Azteca 40 years after their famous ‘Hand of God’ match against Argentina in the 1986 World Cup.

Thomas Tuchel’s team stumbled into the last 16. They needed a late double from captain Harry Kane to win 2-1 against the Democratic Republic of Congo to move on to Sunday’s game.

England came to the World Cup hoping to end a 60-year wait for a major title. But they have not met expectations so far, struggling through the group stage before narrowly beating DR Congo.

England also faces the challenge of altitude, as the Azteca sits about 2,240 metres (7,350 feet) above sea level. “The altitude will be, of course, a big disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it in four days. It’s just impossible,” Tuchel said before the team left for Mexico City.

After visiting the Azteca on Saturday, Tuchel shared his thoughts at a press conference. “It just catches you straight away once you get in here and see the excitement and see the emotions. I felt straight away that this will be a proper World Cup match for tomorrow.

“We knew it before. We are in an iconic place, an iconic stadium,” Tuchel added. He is also dealing with how to fix England’s weak defence, which has seemed shaky, especially on the right side.

On the other hand, Mexico is doing well. El Tri has won all four of their home games without letting in a goal. A 2-0 win over Ecuador gave them their first knockout win at the World Cup in 40 years, and they could make history by knocking out England in front of their home fans.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre questioned whether the altitude would matter. He believes the game will come down to a contest of “11 v 11.” The 67-year-old told reporters his team must play a “near-perfect match” to beat England, who are fourth in the FIFA rankings while Mexico is in tenth.

“They have major players who play both inside and outside the country,” Aguirre said. “They’re pretty powerful, physically speaking, and they’re great players.”

Sunday’s match is set to kick off at 6:00 pm local time (0000 GMT). FIFA on Friday reportedly thought about moving the start time up to avoid thunderstorms expected at kick-off but later confirmed the game would stay at the scheduled time.

The winner on Sunday will face a quarter-final match in Miami against Norway or Brazil, who will meet at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.