England rolls into the Estadio Azteca on Sunday for a World Cup round-of-16 game that, on paper, looks like a trip into a haunted house. Mexico has lost exactly twice in 89 competitive matches at that stadium since it opened in 1966. Two losses. In almost 60 years. That stat gets thrown around a lot this week, and it sounds terrifying.
But here’s the thing about that record. It’s real. It’s also a little hollow if you dig past the headline number.
Mexico’s last loss at the Azteca in a competitive match came in September 2013. Honduras beat them 2-1 in World Cup qualifiers. Since that night, El Tri has played 26 competitive matches there without losing. That run includes wins over New Zealand, Israel and Scotland. It also includes four wins over Panama, four over Honduras, two over Costa Rica and two over El Salvador. Those are solid Concacaf results. They are not the resume of a team that regularly beats world powers.
The last genuinely elite team to play Mexico in a competitive match at the Azteca was Brazil in the 2003 Gold Cup. That is 23 years ago. Since then, the highest-ranked opponent they’ve faced at home in a competitive match is Canada, who sits around 30th in the FIFA rankings. Portugal played a friendly there in 2024 and left with a draw. England would be the best team to walk into that stadium with something on the line since Ronaldinho was still playing for Brazil.
World Cup history helps, but not the way you think
Mexico has never lost a World Cup game at the Azteca. They’ve played 11, won nine and drawn two. That’s a real streak. But the opponents in those wins tell a story too. Belgium in 1970. Iraq in 1986. El Salvador, Bulgaria. This year they beat South Africa, the Czech Republic and Ecuador there. All solid wins. None of those teams are England.
England has only played at the Azteca twice, both times in the 1986 World Cup. They beat Paraguay 3-0 in the round of 16, then lost to Argentina in the quarterfinals. That loss sticks in the memory because of Diego Maradona’s handball goal and the famous solo run. Thomas Tuchel has mentioned karma and redemption this week. It’s good copy. It doesn’t change the fact that this England team is probably the most technically complete side Mexico has faced at home in decades.
Current form matters more than stadium mystique
Mexico won the Gold Cup and the Nations League in 2025. They are clearly the best team in North America right now. They’re well-coached, they defend in numbers, and the altitude in Mexico City is real. Players feel it by the 60th minute. The crowd noise is genuine intimidation.
But the numbers since 2022 show a more modest picture. In six matches at the Azteca across friendlies and this World Cup, they beat Honduras and drew with Portugal and Jamaica before three wins in this tournament. The wins this summer came against South Africa, the Czech Republic and Ecuador. That’s good. It’s not invincible.
England has the depth to rotate, the technical quality to keep possession and the composure to handle hostile environments. They just played in Dortmund against Germany in qualifying and survived. The Azteca is louder and thinner air. But it’s not a magic spell.
Mexico’s record is real. It’s also built mostly against teams ranked 30th or lower, in a confederation where they’ve been the dominant program for decades. England is a different kind of test. The first team to beat Mexico at the Azteca in a World Cup. That would be history. And history tends to get made eventually.
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