England return to Azteca Stadium after 40 years for Mexico World Cup last 16 clash

England will walk out at the Azteca Stadium for the first time in 40 years when they face co-hosts Mexico in the last 16 of the World Cup. It is a ground that has produced some of the most memorable, and painful, moments in the history of the Three Lions.

The famous Mexico City venue has hosted England on several occasions since the late 1960s, spanning a World Cup final tournament, a warm-up tour and one of the most infamous quarter-finals ever played.

From a drab draw to a difficult 1985 tour

England’s first taste of the Azteca came on 1 June 1969, when the then world champions faced Mexico in front of 105,000 spectators as part of an end-of-season tour ahead of the following year’s World Cup. The match, played in stifling midday heat, finished goalless.

England did not return until 1985, when Bobby Robson’s side took part in a pair of concurrent tournaments in Mexico City, the “Aztec 2000” event and the “Ciudad de México Cup”. They lost 2-1 to Italy on 6 June, undone by a late, contentious Alessandro Altobelli penalty in front of a sparse crowd of just 8,000.

Three days later England were beaten 1-0 by Mexico themselves, piling further pressure on Robson, before the tour ended on a high with a 3-0 win over West Germany, goals from Bryan Robson and Kerry Dixon settling the contest against a Franz Beckenbauer side that would go on to reach the World Cup final at the same stadium the following year.

Lineker’s Golden Boot run and the Hand of God

England returned to the Azteca for the 1986 World Cup itself, having stumbled through their group with a loss to Portugal, a draw with Morocco and a win over Poland. They faced Paraguay in the last 16, with Gary Lineker scoring twice on his way to that summer’s Golden Boot as England won to set up a quarter-final against Diego Maradona’s Argentina.

That quarter-final, played on 22 June 1986 in front of 114,000 fans at a noon kick-off in energy-sapping heat, is remembered above all for Maradona’s opening goal. The Argentine chased down a miscued clearance from Steve Hodge and beat Peter Shilton to the ball with his hand, with referee Ali Bin Nasser somehow awarding the goal despite widespread awareness in the stadium of the handball.

Maradona later reflected on the moment that became known as the Hand of God: “I knew it was my hand. It wasn’t my plan but the action happened so fast.”

Maradona would go on to score his celebrated second goal of that match within minutes, a run that has come to define the Azteca’s place in football folklore. England were eliminated, and would not play at the stadium again for four decades.

A new chapter against Mexico

Now, four decades on from that heartbreak against Argentina, England return to the same ground for a World Cup last-16 tie against co-hosts Mexico. Given the history the Azteca holds for English football, from the euphoria of Lineker’s goals to the anguish of Maradona’s handball, the Three Lions will hope this latest visit produces a happier ending.