England will face their biggest test of the World Cup so far when they take on Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.
Mexico boast a daunting record at the Azteca with just two defeats from 89 matches, while another selection headache awaits Thomas Tuchel at right-back. The match has also been overshadowed by kick-off time confusion, with the game still set to start at 1am UK time on Monday.
Sky Sports' Rob Dorsett previews the last-16 clash from Mexico City...
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The good news for England going into their last-16 tie at the World Cup is that Mexico will come out and attack them. The bad news for England going into their last-16 tie at the World Cup is that Mexico will come out and attack them...
That is the conundrum facing Thomas Tuchel as he prepares his tactical plan. How much does he try to meet fire with fire, playing on the front foot, and how much does he try to protect a back four which has already shown in this tournament that it is fallible?
The statistics will tell you that, of the sides left in the tournament, England have the third lowest xG against them with 2.3 over the four matches. But that doesn't pass the sniff test. England have looked much more vulnerable than that.
Going forward England have struggled when faced with a low block. Think Ghana and - for an hour - Panama. When Croatia came out positively and tried to attack England, Tuchel's men played some of the most exciting, attacking football we have seen from the national team for many years. They scored four goals. Cue the first moving rendition of Wonderwall.
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But England also conceded two in that opening World Cup match, and defensively they have conceded space and chances aplenty to each of the four sides they have played. As a result, England find themselves on something of a knife edge: wanting, daring Mexico to attack them, but fearing when they do that the weakest part of their side might be exposed.
Tuchel cannot treat this as just another football match, analysing the relative strengths and weaknesses of each side. England are not just playing 11 opponents, they are coming up against the will and passion of an entire nation, which will be channelled from the mighty, steep stands in the Azteca Stadium. England's support - so often the majority in international matches away from home - will be outnumbered eight-to-one.
The Azteca itself has been specifically designed to be as hostile and unsettling as possible for away teams. When the England team bus drives up to the stadium on matchday, the road system forces it to drive around almost the entire perimeter so that the players are left in no doubt about the scale of the venue and the ferocity of its inhabitants. Likewise, the walk from the team bus to the changing rooms is long and exposed, so that once the players are out in the open, they feel the full force of the animosity.
Talking to sources with experience of matchdays at this iconic stadium, the best tactic seems to be to try to weather Mexico's initial storm early in the game and then later, try to impose yourself in attack. The importance of the first 15-20 minutes on Sunday cannot be overstated, they say, but the hope is that while Mexico's starting fire burns very brightly, it can then gradually burn itself out if it doesn't have the fuel from a goal.
One commentator used the analogy of a boxing match - Mexico will come out swinging, but if they don't land enough blows in the first few rounds, they will probably punch themselves out.
There is no doubt that, man for man, England are better than Mexico. Would any of the Mexican players get into Tuchel's starting XI? Probably not. Although after England lost three right-backs through injury, maybe the two Mexican defenders who have played there during the tournament so far, would have a shout - Israel Reyes and Jorge Sánchez.
England's right-back position is by far the greatest concern for Tuchel, as it has been throughout the tournament. Tino Livramento left, Reece James is sidelined indefinitely, Jarrell Quansah hasn't trained and is a real doubt. In an unfortunate coincidence, Mexico's biggest threat is Julián Quiñones, who plays on the left wing and has three goals already in the tournament.
Because of that, it is possible that England might decide to play Declan Rice in the right-back position to try to nullify the threat. Possible, because it was Tuchel's assistant, Anthony Barry who came up with that idea late on in the win over DR Congo when Djed Spence was substituted. Spence didn't have an injury. England's coaches were just worried that he was being overwhelmed on the right flank. In making that move, Rice became the fifth different right-back England have used in the four matches of this tournament.
Rice isn't a natural right-back. The last time he played there for Arsenal was during an unsuccessful 20-minute stint against West Ham in May, when Arteta's side won narrowly 1-0. The Arsenal boss switched Rice back into midfield when he realised how much his team had suffered in the centre of the pitch in his absence.
That isn't so much of a concern for Tuchel. England have very able alternatives, especially with doubts over Rice's fitness. When Jude Bellingham deputised for Rice against Panama, dropping deep when England didn't have the ball, he was man-of-the-match and was statistically both the best attacker and defender on the pitch. Bellingham could comfortably fulfil that role again against Mexico, with Morgan Rogers or Ebere Eze coming in at No 10.
Beyond the debate about right-back and central midfield, there are unlikely to be many more changes for England from the side that eventually saw off DR Congo. Anthony Gordon's impressive substitute performance - providing two assists for Harry Kane's two goals - means it will be a purely tactical decision for Tuchel whether the Barcelona man or Marcus Rashford starts the game.
Tuchel's delineation of the squad into starters and finishers has never been more important than for this game. The starters might be designed to nullify the Mexico team and quieten the Mexican crowd. The finishers, he hopes, will be the guys who try to win the game for England.
And if they do that, they will join an extremely small and exclusive list of nations to have won at the Azteca Stadium.
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Sources: Sky Sports
