Only three teams won every group game at the 2026 World Cup: France, Argentina and Mexico. It’s not an ideal situation for Thomas Tuchel’s England, who now face a daunting last-16 tie against the co-hosts at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Unfortunately, the ominous signs don’t stop there.

Mexico’s record at their home stadium is hugely impressive. They’ve won 70, drawn 17 and lost just twice in 89 competitive matches there, while remaining unbeaten across 10 World Cup games at the Azteca.

In fact, Mexico’s last competitive defeat at the stadium came in 2013 against Honduras – when David Cameron was still the UK’s Prime Minister. Their only other competitive loss came 12 years earlier, against Costa Rica in 2001. Both defeats came during World Cup qualifying campaigns.

It’s worth noting that Mexico has suffered a further six defeats in friendlies at the Azteca since it opened in 1966, against Hungary, Brazil, Italy, Peru, Chile and Spain. Perhaps England can take encouragement from that. There’s more to the stadium than Mexico’s formidable home record, though.

1/ It’s the Highest Stadium at the 2026 World Cup

At 2,200m above sea level, the Azteca is the highest stadium being used at the 2026 World Cup. By comparison, the highest stadium in English professional football is West Brom’s The Hawthorns, which sits just 168m above sea level.

At this altitude, barometric pressure is lower, meaning the air is thinner and players take in less oxygen with each breath. Research suggests maximum aerobic capacity falls by around 10%, causing lactate to build up more quickly and muscles to fatigue sooner. Reduced oxygen delivery to the brain can also impair decision-making.

The conditions affect the ball, too. With less air resistance, lofted passes, shots and crosses all travel faster.

2/ It Was the First Stadium to Host 2 World Cup Finals

The Azteca became the first stadium to host two men’s World Cup finals in 1986, having already staged the 1970 showpiece.

Brazil beat Italy 4–1 in 1970 before Argentina defeated West Germany 3–2 in 1986. Adding to the occasion, Pelé and Diego Maradona – two of the greatest footballers in history – captained the victorious teams.

The record stood until the Maracanã hosted its second World Cup final in 2014, having previously done so in 1950.

3/ It’s the First Stadium to Host 3 World Cups

With Mexico awarded co-hosting duties for the 2026 tournament, the Azteca became the first stadium to stage matches at three different FIFA World Cups, following the 1970 and 1986 editions.

4/ It Hosted the ‘Game of the Century’

Hosting two World Cup finals is impressive enough, but the Azteca also staged the match widely known as the ‘Game of the Century’.

That came in the 1970 World Cup semi-final, when Italy beat West Germany 4–3 after extra time. Remarkably, five of the seven goals were scored during the additional 30 minutes.

After 90 minutes, the score was just 1–1 before the game exploded into life. The teams traded goals repeatedly, with Italy’s winner arriving just one minute after West Germany had equalised.

Had the scores remained level, lots would have been drawn to determine who reached the final. Penalty shootouts weren’t introduced at the World Cup until 1978.

5/ It Hosted the ‘Hand of God’ and the ‘Goal of the Century’

As if that wasn’t enough, two of football’s most famous moments also took place at the Azteca – in the very same match.

When Argentina faced England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, Diego Maradona first scored the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal, punching the ball beyond goalkeeper Peter Shilton without the officials noticing.

Maradona later described it as ‘a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God’.

Just minutes later, he scored what was later voted the ‘Goal of the Century’, collecting the ball inside his own half before weaving past five England players, including Shilton, and finishing into an empty net.

6/ It’s Hosted Far More Than Football

The Azteca hosted football during the 1968 Olympic Games, but it isn’t solely a football venue.

NFL regular-season games have been staged there, while 132,000 spectators packed into the stadium to watch Julio César Chávez defeat Greg Haugen by TKO in 1993. It remains the second-highest attended boxing match in history, behind only Tony Zale versus Billy Pryor in 1941, which attracted 135,000 spectators.

Elton John, U2, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Bad Bunny have all performed at the stadium.

Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.

During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.

Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…

You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_