2026 World Cup: Mexico vs. England—Probable Lineups and the Final Schedule

To quote William Shakespeare, much ado about nothing: despite persistent rumors of a schedule change due to a storm warning in the area around Azteca Stadium, the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 match between Mexico and England will go ahead as scheduled at 2 a.m. Italian time on the night between Sunday and Monday (6 p.m. local time). Sixty years have passed since the only previous World Cup match between these two teams: at the time, England (who went on to win the tournament) won 2-0 in the group stage, with goals from Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt.

Regardless of the outcome, Mexico will bid farewell to the festive atmosphere of its home country: even if they qualify, La Verde will be forced to move to the United States, where all matches from the quarterfinals onward will be played. Mexico is one of only two teams—along with France—to have won all their matches in regulation time so far: after defeating South Africa, South Korea, and the Czech Republic in the group stage, the team led by Javier Aguirre beat Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 16, with goals by Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez.

England, one of the pre-tournament favorites, has instead had a roller-coaster World Cup so far: after a convincing victory over Croatia in their opener, Tuchel’s team struggled against Ghana, drawing a lackluster 0-0, and against Panama, only pulling ahead late in the game for a 2-0 win. In the Round of 16 against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Three Lions even fell behind, only managing to come back in the closing minutes thanks to a brace by Harry Kane.

Probable Lineups

MEXICO (4-3-3): Rangel; Sanchez, Montes, Vasquez, Gallardo; Mora, Lira, Romo; Alvarado, Jimenez, Quiñones. Head Coach: Aguirre.

ENGLAND (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Spence, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane. Head Coach: Tuchel.