England are set to face Mexico in the round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday 6 July, with kick-off at 01:00 BST. Here is everything you need to know about El Tri ahead of that fixture.

What kind of team are Mexico?

Mexico are a co-host nation enjoying home advantage, crowd support, and the benefits of playing at altitude — conditions that can drain visiting sides over 90 minutes. They have won all four of their games so far without conceding a single goal, and coach Javier Aguirre has credited the passionate home support as a major factor in that run.

Yet this is not a particularly gifted Mexican side. Relatively few players ply their trade in Europe's top five leagues, and the squad's most recognisable name, Raul Jimenez, is 35 years old. Before the tournament, some sections of the fan base openly booed El Tri during goalless draws against Uruguay and Portugal. The atmosphere has since shifted, but questions remain about their attacking sharpness.

Strengths and weaknesses

Mexico's defensive organisation is their most reliable asset. Centre-backs Johan Vasquez and Cesar Montes form a disciplined partnership, and the team presses with purpose to recover the ball quickly. Their record of zero goals conceded in four matches underlines how difficult they are to break down.

In attack, however, Mexico have often lacked fluency under Aguirre, despite scoring eight goals against relatively modest opposition. His preferred shape — a narrow front three with full-backs providing width — can become predictable. If England succeed in blocking their passing lanes, El Tri may run short of ideas.

Players to watch

Gilberto Mora is the name on everyone's lips. The creative midfielder from Tijuana is just 17 years old — the youngest player in Mexico's World Cup history and the youngest from any nation to start a knockout match since Pelé did so for Brazil in 1958. Hopes are high that he can become the talisman El Tri have long searched for.

Raul Jimenez has endured three consecutive World Cups without scoring, but has already netted twice in this tournament. The striker, who has agreed a move back to Wolves from Fulham this summer, tends to deliver in the moments that matter most — as he proved in last year's Gold Cup final against the United States, when he equalised in a 2-1 victory.

Cesar Montes, 29, is a commanding figure at 6ft 3in and dangerous at set-pieces in both boxes. He scored three times at last year's Gold Cup and joined Lokomotiv Moscow in 2024 after an 18-month spell in Spanish football failed to produce the results expected of him.

The coach: Javier Aguirre

Aguirre, 67, is in his third stint as Mexico head coach and has rebuilt both team shape and dressing-room morale since returning in 2024. A former midfielder who represented Mexico at the 1986 World Cup, he has previous experience guiding El Tri to the round of 16 in 2002 and 2010.

His approach is pragmatic and disciplined — not always crowd-pleasing, but effective. He used 54 players across 22 warm-up matches in the year before the tournament, allowing extensive experimentation. Several domestic-based players reported for camp as early as 6 May, some spending five full weeks in preparation before a ball was kicked competitively.

Assistant coach Rafa Marquez — the only player ever to captain a nation at five separate World Cups — is set to take charge of Mexico after this tournament concludes.

How Mexico reached the last 16

Mexico won all three of their Group A matches, defeating South Africa, South Korea, and Czech Republic in succession. They then beat Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32, ending a 40-year wait for a knockout-stage victory and laying to rest, at least for now, the long-standing curse of the quinto partido — the elusive fifth game that eluded El Tri for generations.

Between 1994 and 2018, Mexico exited in the round of 16 at seven consecutive World Cups. Their Qatar 2022 campaign was even grimmer — they did not even make it out of the group stage. Two coaches were hired and dismissed in the aftermath before Aguirre was recalled. The co-hosts now sit one win away from matching their best-ever World Cup finish as hosts: a quarter-final, achieved in both 1970 and 1986.