Lots of England fans clearly have no idea the absolutely massive advantage that playing at Aztwca gives the Mexican side. Put aside for a second the sheer size of 100,000+ fans and intimidating atmosphere (thats only the minor advantage). The true advantage is purely physiological, in ways that cannot be countered. Fans of MLB baseball know that Coors Field in Colorado is an outlier stadium. The elevation is so much higher than any other stadium that games at Coors generally scores 20-30% more runs than the rest of the league. Below is a pictograph of the altitude of Coors vs the other stadiums. Coors sits at 5194 ft. Azteca is at 7200 ft. England can mitigate the advantage somewhat with oxygen tanks, but they simply wont be able to change the physiology of their bodies in a week the way the Mexican side has changed theirs. There is 24% less oxygen at 7000 ft than at sea level, which means the English players will be struggling to catch their breath the entire game. The body does adapt, but over time. The Mexican squad will have been practicing at Azteca for months, which has changed their bodies. Their blood will have 20-30% more red blood cells than the English players blood. Of course, its not impossible for England to win, but the advantage for Mexico is enourmous. In practical terms, it is as if the entire team has been placed on an aggressive doping program (doping for endurance sports such as cycling or soccer is almost always related to increasing red blood cell count). If England manages to win the World Cup, the game vs Mexico will likely be their toughest, for reasons that have nothing to do with the skill level of either team.