WHEN England face Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in the early hours of Monday morning, they will walk into one of the biggest moments of this World Cup so far, and one of the most intense atmospheres it’s possible to experience at this mostly gentrified Fifa tournament.

Mexico playing at the Azteca is the greatest home advantage any of the three co-hosts are likely to enjoy at this World Cup. They have secured convincing wins in each of their three games at the stadium so far, with the other coming in a 1-0 win against South Korea in Guadalajara.

Part of the benefit for Mexico of playing their games in this location in Mexico City is the altitude, as the Azteca stands more than 7,000 feet above sea level.

Their squad have been training since early May at the high-altitude Centro de Alto Rendimiento sports facility on the southern edge of the city.

The Liga MX season was still going on when the training camp started on May 6 and the national team insisted that players still involved in the league’s 2026 Clausura playoffs forgo the end of their club season.

They went as far as warning that any player not joining up with the camp from the beginning would be left out of the World Cup squad altogether, even if their club was still involved in important end-of-season games.

So far, this has paid off. The early start means the Mexico players have had two months preparing and playing in these conditions, which will become a natural, environmental advantage for the host city.

Altitude is regularly used by nations with high-elevation cities to try to gain an edge in football, most notably by Bolivia and Ecuador in South American World Cup qualifying.

It worked especially well for Ecuador, who went unbeaten at home in Conmebol qualifying, playing most of their games in Quito. Despite this, they ultimately disappointed at altitude in Mexico City during the tournament itself, losing 2-0 to the hosts in the last 32.

As hosts, Mexico have every right to take any advantage they can get and the Azteca altitude is one of those. They were only able to enjoy such privileges as they finished top of their group.

Had they finished second, they would have surrendered home advantage, at least in terms of geographic location (Mexico still draw a large following in the US), and had to play the rest of their tournament in the US.

It would have been an unreasonable development had the hosts been asked to play outside of their home country so soon in the knockout rounds, something which eventually did happen to Canada, who already played their first knockout game in the US and will do so for as long as they remain in the tournament.

Should Mexico win against England, they will also no longer have any home advantage, as all of the venues from the quarterfinals onwards will be in the United States.

Mexico, not having at least the Azteca beyond the last 16, and Canada’s early loss of home-field advantage, despite being hosts, shows that this three-nation co-hosting arrangement is biased towards the United States.

A Mexico victory against England, were it to happen, would be huge for the country and for the World Cup, but then questions would be rightly asked as to why Mexico’s (and Canada’s) involvement as hosts ends at the quarterfinals.

Even though Mexico will still draw a considerable number of fans in the US, to the point where those games will feel like home matches as far as their presence in the stands goes, there will still be a sense of missed opportunity to keep a special run going in Mexico for longer.

Mexico are right to use their advantage while they still have it, but England will be doing all they can to make sure the Mexico team’s World Cup involvement ends at the same time as their country’s role as hosts.

It will not be easy. Thomas Tuchel has already admitted that it is an issue they physically can’t prepare for.

“My understanding is that we cannot adapt to the altitude,” the England manager said. “That is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have. It just takes too much time.”

Since having the honour of opening the tournament at the Azteca on June 11, defeating South Africa 2-0, Mexico have scored eight goals in their four games and are yet to concede.

In normal circumstances, England might expect to defeat Mexico, not easily, but defeat them nevertheless. These are far from normal circumstances, though, as Mexico ride a wave of support and of positivity from their perfect tournament record so far.

They ride it in the thin air of Mexico City during its rainy season, where England will be up against the elements, the altitude, and El Tri.