The most striking thing about Thomas Tuchel’s press conference last night was that he twice said being in Mexico City for this game “made him feel alive”.
England’s Kansas City base has been very sedate, and that midwest calm has been good for them. But the energy in this city is categorically different, and England felt it as soon as they got off the plane on Friday night.
Since then, they have seen local fans lining the streets, gathering outside their hotel and turning up outside their training session at Pumas’ facility — not far from the Azteca — on Saturday afternoon.
Clearly, there is a different level of pressure and atmosphere here, even before the altitude is taken into account. But Tuchel seemingly wants to lean into that. He wants his players to live up to the pressure and the expectations, and he sounded confident it will bring the best out of them.
