What you need to know about England's last-16 opponents Mexico
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- Mexico won all three Group A matches (vs. South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic) and beat Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32, recording four consecutive clean-sheet wins at the tournament
- England meet co-hosts Mexico on Monday 6 July at 01:00 BST, with El Tri benefiting from altitude, partisan home support, and additional recovery time
- Gilberto Mora, 17-year-old Tijuana midfielder, is the youngest player in Mexico's World Cup history and the youngest from any nation to start a knockout game since Pelé in 1958
- Raúl Jiménez, 35, has scored twice at this World Cup after failing to find the net at his previous three tournaments, and has agreed a summer return to Wolves from Fulham
- Javier Aguirre, 67, is in his third spell as Mexico coach after being reappointed in 2024; he played 22 matches using 54 players over the past year, with 12 domestic-based players in camp since 6 May
- César Montes, Mexico's 29-year-old 6ft 3in centre-back, joined Lokomotiv Moscow in 2024 after an unsuccessful 18-month stint in Spanish football and scored three goals at last year's Gold Cup
- Rafa Márquez, Mexico's assistant, is the only man to captain a country at five World Cups and is set to succeed Aguirre after the tournament
Why it matters: Mexico's four clean sheets and co-host advantage have lifted El Tri above their pre-tournament skepticism, but limited attacking fluency and reliance on a 17-year-old make them vulnerable if England can disrupt their passing lanes. For Mexico, the match tests whether Aguirre's third stint can end their 64-match World Cup drought without a trophy and deliver a first quarter-final since 1986.
