Mexico have only lost two out of 89 previous competitive games at their high-altitude fortress in the capital Mexico City, which sits more than 2,000 metres above sea level.
The last of those defeats came all the way back in September 2013, which rather sums up the scale of the task facing England this weekend against one of the World Cup host nations, who are being backed by a passionate home crowd.
Fans of a certain age certainly won’t need reminding of England’s last visit to the famous and formidable Azteca, when the late Diego Maradona scored both the ‘Hand of God’ and arguably the greatest goal in tournament history within the space of four second-half minutes as eventual champions Argentina won in the quarter-finals.
But if they did get through, who would lie in wait next for England?
Captain fantastic: Harry Kane scored twice late on to save England from a major World Cup upset against DR Congo
PA
Who would England play next at World Cup if they beat Mexico?
If England do manage to get past Mexico, they will seal a quarter-final spot at the World Cup for the third tournament in a row.
That would next take them to Miami Stadium on July 11, where they would be in line for a 10pm BST kick-off time on a Saturday night.
It would be England’s first meeting with Brazil at the World Cup finals since the last eight in 2002, when Michael Owen’s opening goal in Shizuoka was cancelled out by Rivaldo and Ronaldinho’s famous free-kick lob over David Seaman, with Ronaldinho later sent off as the star-studded Selecao won 2-1 en route to their record fifth and last global triumph.
Norway, by contrast, finished as runners-up to France in Group I with Erling Haaland on top form, beating Iraq and Senegal before being brushed aside by Les Bleus after Stale Solbakken made sweeping changes with progress to the knockout stages already secured on the country’s first World Cup appearance since 1998.
England have never played Norway at a major tournament and have faced them only twice in friendlies this century – winning 1-0 at Wembley in 2014 and in Oslo in 2012.
