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Estadio Azteca has been a fortress for Mexico.
Sitting more than 7,000 feet above sea level, the venue is roughly 2,000 feet higher than Denver’s Empower Field, giving the Mexican national team a high-altitude home field advantage.
But England was able to break through on July 5 in the 2026 World Cup, beating Mexico 3-2 in front of a packed Azteca crowd.
It’s a defeat Mexico has rarely suffered when playing at its Mexico City home.
In 90 competitive games before the round of 16 match versus England, Mexico had lost at Estadio Azteca only twice. The first occurrence was a 2-1 defeat to Costa Rica in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup. The second time was another 2-1 loss, but to Honduras in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
The other 88 competitive games were either wins for Mexico or draws.
Across 152 total matches, including friendlies, Mexico has won 102, drawn 40, and lost 10 since Estadio Azteca opened in 1966. They’ve outscored opponents 342 to 89.
England was also the first opponent to score at Azteca since 2023, when Jamaica drew Mexico 2-2 in a CONCACAF Nations League game.
The next five games, including a 2026 friendly versus Portugal, were all clean sheets for Mexico.
Those five games included three matches at this year’s World Cup. Mexico opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over South Africa, then closed out its group with a 3-0 win over Czechia. In the round of 32, Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0.
But thanks to a pair of goals from Jude Bellingham and a converted penalty by Harry Kane, England pulled off the previously unthinkable — and did so being a man down for over 40 minutes.
However, it’s worth noting that most of Mexico’s games at Estadio Azteca have been against less accomplished nations than England.
In competitive matches, the biggest name Mexico has faced and beaten is probably Brazil, which it defeated at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
However, Brazil’s 1999 Confederations Cup roster didn’t include stars like Ronaldo, Rivaldo or Cafu. And the 2003 team sent an under-23 squad.
Plus, Mexico’s performance at Azteca has been poorer against European-only competition than against its usual CONCACAF opponents.
Including friendlies, Mexico has played 37 games against European teams. They’ve won 16, drawn 18, and lost three. That works out to 1.78 points per game, using the modern three points for a win and one point for a draw system. Against non-European competition, Mexico has averaged 2.43 points per game, a 36% increase.
Across three World Cups at Estadio Azteca, Mexico had beaten four European teams and drawn one prior to the England loss. However, per pre-tournament Elo Ratings, none were as highly ranked as No. 4 England. The closest was the Soviet Union, which came into the 1970 World Cup ranked No. 6, and drew Mexico 0-0 at Estadio Azteca in the tournament’s opening game.
So at face value, a loss at Estadio Azteca is a shock to the Mexican soccer system. But El Tri has rarely faced opponents there as tough as the English, so maybe the loss isn’t as shocking as it first seems.
Methodology note: Mexico results at Estadio Azteca derived from combining 11v11’s database with the World Football Elo Ratings’ match list for Mexico.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexico's loss at Estadio Azteca was nearly unprecedented. Inside the numbers
Continue reading...
Sitting more than 7,000 feet above sea level, the venue is roughly 2,000 feet higher than Denver’s Empower Field, giving the Mexican national team a high-altitude home field advantage.
But England was able to break through on July 5 in the 2026 World Cup, beating Mexico 3-2 in front of a packed Azteca crowd.
It’s a defeat Mexico has rarely suffered when playing at its Mexico City home.
In 90 competitive games before the round of 16 match versus England, Mexico had lost at Estadio Azteca only twice. The first occurrence was a 2-1 defeat to Costa Rica in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup. The second time was another 2-1 loss, but to Honduras in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
The other 88 competitive games were either wins for Mexico or draws.
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Across 152 total matches, including friendlies, Mexico has won 102, drawn 40, and lost 10 since Estadio Azteca opened in 1966. They’ve outscored opponents 342 to 89.
England was also the first opponent to score at Azteca since 2023, when Jamaica drew Mexico 2-2 in a CONCACAF Nations League game.
The next five games, including a 2026 friendly versus Portugal, were all clean sheets for Mexico.
Those five games included three matches at this year’s World Cup. Mexico opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over South Africa, then closed out its group with a 3-0 win over Czechia. In the round of 32, Mexico beat Ecuador 2-0.
But thanks to a pair of goals from Jude Bellingham and a converted penalty by Harry Kane, England pulled off the previously unthinkable — and did so being a man down for over 40 minutes.
However, it’s worth noting that most of Mexico’s games at Estadio Azteca have been against less accomplished nations than England.
In competitive matches, the biggest name Mexico has faced and beaten is probably Brazil, which it defeated at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
However, Brazil’s 1999 Confederations Cup roster didn’t include stars like Ronaldo, Rivaldo or Cafu. And the 2003 team sent an under-23 squad.
Plus, Mexico’s performance at Azteca has been poorer against European-only competition than against its usual CONCACAF opponents.
Including friendlies, Mexico has played 37 games against European teams. They’ve won 16, drawn 18, and lost three. That works out to 1.78 points per game, using the modern three points for a win and one point for a draw system. Against non-European competition, Mexico has averaged 2.43 points per game, a 36% increase.
Across three World Cups at Estadio Azteca, Mexico had beaten four European teams and drawn one prior to the England loss. However, per pre-tournament Elo Ratings, none were as highly ranked as No. 4 England. The closest was the Soviet Union, which came into the 1970 World Cup ranked No. 6, and drew Mexico 0-0 at Estadio Azteca in the tournament’s opening game.
So at face value, a loss at Estadio Azteca is a shock to the Mexican soccer system. But El Tri has rarely faced opponents there as tough as the English, so maybe the loss isn’t as shocking as it first seems.
Methodology note: Mexico results at Estadio Azteca derived from combining 11v11’s database with the World Football Elo Ratings’ match list for Mexico.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexico's loss at Estadio Azteca was nearly unprecedented. Inside the numbers
Continue reading...
