Ghosts of the Azteca: England return to scene of infamous Maradona handball

As soon as the World Cup draw was completed in Washington DC last December, the date went into the diary, circled in bold by every England fan that hoped to travel, and millions more who knew they would not. Sunday 5 July, Mexico City. If everything went to plan and Thomas Tuchel’s team topped Group L and won their last-32 tie, they would be going to the Azteca Stadium for the last 16.

There was another element in play. If Mexico won their group and advanced in the last 32, they would provide the opposition. Just imagine. England to play a critical knockout tie against one of the host nations in their back yard. It is a back yard where Mexico boast a fearsome record, where they feel close to invincible, owing in part to it being about 2,240 metres above sea level. The altitude can spin the heads of opposing players, burn their lungs. It does not affect Mexico.

Then there is the atmosphere created by the 80,824 fanatics that pack it out. You think you have seen it all? You think you have heard and felt what the most pulsating stadiums have to offer? Not until you have experienced a World Cup game involving Mexico at the Azteca. For England, it is now gloriously real, the ultimate bucket-list fixture set up when they beat the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Wednesday in Atlanta – the day after Mexico had swept past Ecuador on a thunderous night at the Azteca, when the party throbbed until the next morning.

There is, of course, something else, something deeper. It touches the soul of every England supporter; a scar that will never heal. Tuchel and his players will not only be taking on the full force of a nation. They will feel the chills of a ghost. If the Azteca is all things to all Mexicans and many things to plenty of others, it means just one to England fans. The Hand of God.

England versus Argentina in the quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup. The images are grainy and there are the little details, too, which somehow endure. Such as the spider-shaped shadow from a structure high up in the Azteca that was fixed around the centre circle throughout the game. Diego Maradona’s goal to put Argentina 2-0 up and set them fair for victory was arguably the greatest of all time. But it was when he leapt shortly before that with his hand above his head that he assured himself of infamy.

Tuchel was 12 years old at the time, watching from home in Germany. He did not feel it like an England fan and yet he felt it. “It was not only English people,” he says. “Even me. I didn’t have a connection to English football in those days but even I know this moment. I remember, of course, the World Cup of Maradona. The two goals against England. The one dribbling and the one … yeah, which would never stand these days.”

Is it trite or just wrong to cast Tuchel and his team as avengers at the Azteca? Whatever the case, the manager is on board with the sentiment. It is as if he believes he can harness something from the memory. “It will reward us,” he says, his eyes sparkling. “We will get it back. Karma will come back for us. We will turn it around.”

Like every football obsessive, Tuchel loves to reminisce about his childhood World Cup memories. Mexico 86 made an impression on him and it all goes into the mix for Sunday’s showpiece. He talks about the strong Soviet Union team from that tournament which lost 4-3 after extra time to Belgium in a last-16 epic. “I remember Vasyl Rats [of the Soviet Union] and then Jan Ceulemans for Belgium,” he says. “I also remember the thing that was hanging in the centre of the Azteca and the shadow from it never moved. The sun was so steep that the shadow was always around the middle circle. I remember the coffee table book that came from the World Cup, the pictures of this stadium and all these flags … and how steep it was.

“It’s an iconic stadium. Germany played there in the final. So I’m super excited to have this match. It’s an iconic match to have in Mexico against Mexico. We will play against the whole country, against the energy of the whole country, in their stadium.”

“I just love football and the old tournaments,” he adds. “These pictures from Mexico … they are in St George’s Park where we stay in the hotel. These big framed pictures of Gary Lineker scoring, of the coaches, of Peter Shilton. They are big pieces of history. This is a good moment to make our peace with the stadium and turn things around.”

The excitement in Mexico City is careering off the scale. Make no mistake, the locals wanted to face England, not the DRC. In the cafes around town, they were happy when Harry Kane scored his late goals to spark England’s 2-1 come-from-behind win.

Why would they prefer England when the DRC are ranked lower and might be considered more beatable? Maybe they think England are vulnerable defensively, which would be a fair assessment based on the tournament so far. But it is more about how Mexico feel about themselves, their supreme confidence at the Azteca. They want to take a big scalp. The attitude is ‘bring on England’.

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of games that Mexico have played at the Azteca because records vary slightly. It is close to 150. What is not in dispute is that they have lost only eight of them, the last defeat coming in September 2013. The unbeaten run stands at 26 matches after three wins out of three there during this tournament. More broadly, the Ecuador game was their 10th in World Cups at the Azteca, taking in the 1970, 1986 and current tournaments. The record reads W8 D2 L0. They have kept eight clean sheets, including in each of the games this summer.

England have played six matches at the Azteca, two of them against Mexico – a draw in 1969 and a loss in 1985. At the 1986 World Cup they beat Paraguay 3-0 there in the last 16. It is the one after that which everybody remembers, everybody feels. Never more so than now.