Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Mexico’s famous altitude factor had him suffering before he had even left England’s hotel.
But the Three Lions head coach believes his players will be ready to write a ‘new chapter’ of history when they take on the co-hosts in the Azteca Stadium on Sunday night.
England have travelled 7,200ft above sea level and many believe the thin air will be a not-so-secret weapon for their opponents.
‘You know what, we feel it,’ Tuchel said on the eve of the last-16 clash following his side’s first and final training session at altitude. ‘We feel it, even if we don’t train. I felt a slight headache and in the hotel room through the day, didn’t sleep as well as the days before.’
Tuchel added that his players had also noticed the difference. ‘It’s nothing that you cannot handle and cannot adapt (to),’ he said. ‘The players felt it in the first minutes of the training session and the longer it went they could cope with it better.
Thomas Tuchel admits England are feeling the effect of the brutal altitude in Mexico City
The Three Lions are set to lock horns with Mexico at 7,200ft above sea level on Sunday night
‘We cannot physically adapt, it’s just impossible, but we are here one day before to experience it, to not have all the first-time experience tomorrow in warmup.’
Tuchel is expecting Mexico to be on the front foot from the off. ‘It’s not a coincidence that Mexico starts their matches on their home turf very, very strong, very front-footed, very aggressively. I think the first 15-20 minutes will be maybe the toughest for us. Once we overcome that, and we experienced that already today, we’re in a good place.’
In a lively press conference, in which he laughed off claims his side had been using Viagra to adapt, Tuchel also dismissed claims that his side would use the 1986 Hand of God on their last visit, as motivation.
‘Everyone remembers the (Diego Maradona) goal and the huge disadvantage for the English team,’ he said. ‘This is painful and still hurts but we are not here for revenge. It’s the same stadium but it is not the same opponent. We are here to write our own chapters. We are ready to go tomorrow.’
