England are taking precautions ahead of their arrival in Mexico to ensure boisterous locals intent on ruining the players’ rest and sleep do not disrupt their preparations.
Thomas Tuchel’s side face Mexico in their World Cup last-16 tie on Sunday (01:00 BST Monday) and are due to arrive in Mexico City on Friday, a move that sees a slight change in schedule for England, who generally land in the host city the evening before a game.
World football governing body Fifa demands teams hold a part-open training session a day before the game, and it has been decided that England will train in Mexico instead of their base in Kansas City, which means they will spend Friday and Saturday in Mexico City.
Ecuador lodged a complaint to Fifa after their squad were deliberately kept awake by noisy Mexico supporters, who used loudspeakers, horns and motorcycles outside the team hotel late at night.
The Ecuador team stayed in the Westin Hotel in Mexico City, and while England want to keep their location undisclosed, there is a concern that the whereabouts will eventually be leaked on social media.
With that in mind, England players and staff who have not brought their own sleeping devices, such as ear plugs or sleep bands, are to be offered natural sleep remedies or white noise audio machines to ensure sleep is not impacted.
Among the other challenges England will face is playing the game against Mexico in high altitude.
Mexico City has an average elevation of approximately 2,240 metres above sea level, meaning there is less oxygen available. This can impact the performance of some players, especially when they are not acclimatised to the conditions.
To that end, Mexico have played all four of their World Cup games so far at high altitude conditions, with three fixtures at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and the other in Guadalajara – which is on average 1,566 metres above sea level.
And Tuchel has conceded his team will be at a disadvantage when England face Mexico this weekend.
“The altitude will be a big disadvantage because we cannot physically adapt to it,” said Tuchel.
“And in four days, it’s just impossible. More obstacles may come, but we are ready for that.
“My understanding is that we cannot adapt to the altitude. That is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have.
“It just takes too much time. We have only three days in between these matches. It’s physically just not possible to adapt to the altitude, which is quite high. We knew that before.
“This is just something with which we will have to deal with. And I think we showed the attitude that we are ready for that.”