Mexico's slow-paced football at the 2026 World Cup suggests England could join the rare club of winners at the Azteca Stadium. Javier Aguirre's side have played at a relaxed tempo for most of the tournament, but their last-16 opponents possess the pace to pose a significant threat.
Rare Losses at the Azteca
It is so rare for Mexico to lose a competitive fixture at the Azteca that the only two examples have their own Wikipedia page. The tournament co-hosts are also the only team other than Spain yet to concede a goal at the 2026 World Cup. These facts will concern England and their supporters ahead of their last-16 tie on Sunday evening (1am Monday BST).
But these statistics need context. While Mexico held Portugal to a goalless draw in a friendly at the Azteca earlier this year, most of the competitive fixtures there have been against far lower standard opposition.
Underwhelming Opponents
The teams Mexico have faced in the World Cup have underwhelmed too. South Africa are 60th in the FIFA rankings, the South Korean president called for an investigation into his country's dismal showing, and Czechia lost to Faroe Islands in qualifying. Ecuador might have finished second in CONMEBOL qualification but did so with 14 goals scored in 18 games, so they don't pose the same level of threat as England.
Altitude Challenge
A valid concern for Thomas Tuchel is the ability of his players to perform at altitude when they are not familiar with doing so. The Azteca is 2,240 metres above sea level, an utterly alien height to footballers accustomed to playing in Europe.
"The recommendation is you either go 10 days before – which is too long for us – or last minute, which is not allowed [by FIFA]," Tuchel said earlier this week. England are stuck between a rock and a high place but will have to find a way to cope.
Style of Play Metrics
One element of the physicality of the game may fall in their favour. Opta uses two metrics to assess a team's style of play: direct speed and passes per sequence. Direct speed is defined as "average speed of ball movement towards opponent goalline during sequence (in metres per second)," with a sequence being "passages of play that belong to one team and are ended by a defensive action, a stoppage in play or a shot."
The two statistics naturally tend to correlate. Some teams get the ball forward quickly without need for patient buildup; others make slower progress upfield while retaining possession. It's a contrast between Wimbledon in the 1980s and Spain in the early 2010s – you can't be both.
Mexico's Slow Tempo
If not as extreme as those examples, the teams England and Mexico have faced at the World Cup have broadly fallen on either end of that spectrum. Javier Aguirre's side have played slow football against slow teams. The buildup to their one Opta-defined fast break goal of the tournament (scored by Julián Quiñones against Czechia) looked like a gentle stroll in the country rather than a rampant bolt upfield.
Group A opponents South Korea had the lowest direct speed of all 48 nations, with South Africa and Mexico themselves also in the bottom seven. By contrast, only six teams have moved upfield faster than England's opponents Ghana, with the Democratic Republic of Congo just outside the top 10.
Altitude Influence
Altitude has likely been influential in this for Mexico's matches and will be a factor again in the England game. If Tuchel's men can handle that issue reasonably well, their faster players should pose a threat with which the co-hosts may not be able to cope. At the very least they should be able to match the relaxed pace at which Mexico have played. It could lead to England being added to a very exclusive Wikipedia page.
