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World Cup: Mexico fans fail in bid to wake up England players with music and fireworks
05th July, 2026 07:13 PM
Mexico supporters attempted to wake up England players with music and fireworks close to their hotel the night before the sides’ last-16 World Cup tie but were moved back by police.
Footage published on social media appears to show a group of fans chanting, playing music, and letting off fireworks on a street near England’s hotel in Mexico City.
Noise complaints
Early indications from the England camp are it had minimal impact on the players.
Police in riot gear have been lining the streets immediately surrounding the hotel, with anyone attempting to get close being moved away.
The increased security presence comes because Ecuador, beaten 2-0 by Mexico in the World Cup last 32, lodged a noise complaint with world governing body FIFA after fans with loudspeakers, motorbikes and horns disrupted their sleep last week.
The World Cup co-hosts play England at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium on Monday, July 6, 2026.
On Saturday, the team were met with a mixture of cheers and jeers from fans as they left their hotel for training under enhanced security measures.
England boss Thomas Tuchel dismissed concerns over his side’s treatment in Mexico, saying it had been “nicer” than he expected and that home fans were “friendly and respectful.
Tuchek on preparing for atmosphere
“We were cheered when we arrived here, and everyone was very respectful. We don’t expect that in our match, but I don’t expect a hostile environment. A stadium like this will create an advantage and momentum for the home team. We are prepared for it. They will try to give us a taste of the intensity of the heat, and we will need to find an answer for that,” he explained.
While he admitted full adaptation to the conditions in Azteca is impossible in such a short window, he emphasised that resilience will carry them through.
“The players felt it in the very first minute of the training session, but as the session progressed, they began to cope with it much better. We cannot physically adapt to it fully in this time frame; that is impossible, but we arrived early enough to experience it and prepare mentally,” he concluded.
