Between them, the Azteca and altitude provide plenty of excuses for England, some pretty valid, in the small hours of Monday. It is vital they ignore them all.

First, the history lesson. Their last-16 opponents are outstanding in the stadium where the Hand of God and one of the best World Cup goals of all time knocked England out of the 1986 tournament.

Mexico have played 89 competitive matches there, and only lost two, neither in a World Cup. They have won 70.

History is a guide, not a rulebook.

WEARY: England must decide how best to use Declan Rice (Image: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

placeholder image — WEARY: England must decide how best to use Declan Rice (Image: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Closer inspection by Opta has revealed that in the 22 games since they last lost competitively there, in 2013, the average FIFA ranking of the opposition is 57 – the spot currently occupied by Tunisia.

Hungary, Brazil, Italy, Peru, Chile, and Spain have all won friendlies there since 1966, Portugal drew 0-0 in one four months ago.

England are not going to win this World Cup without writing new chapters. Pre-Gareth Southgate they did not win World Cup penalty shootouts. Until this week, Germany did not lose them.

What will undeniably be tough is the altitude Mexico have played at throughout, but the Three Lions have had to get used to this week.

PEPPED UP: Anthony Gordon (right) met expectations for the first time as a substitute against Congo (Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

The Azteca is 7,220ft above sea level. I can assure you from experience, that messes with your body when on a gentle holiday, never mind chasing international footballers around in red-hot conditions.

England have had a lot of luck with the conditions so far, either playing in air-conditioned stadiums or cooler-than-average temperatures. The way Declan Rice spoke to the media after Wednesday's win over Congo, it was clear even the former took a lot out of him.

With the ludicrous number of miles in his legs after a season of box-to-box running winning the Premier League and reaching the European Cup final with Arsenal, it would be an unfairly harsh critic to scold him for that, but nevertheless, the next test will be much more physically demanding again.

But one thing England can be confident of is they will have the best sports science back-up imaginable to deal with it.

DAUNTING: The Azteca Stadium in Mexico City (Image: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Few if any teams at the World Cup can throw the resources England can at the problem, and post-Southgate there is a willingness to embrace areas they might previously have looked down their noses at, and no shortage of highly-skilled operators at work at their state-of-the-art St George's Park training base.

The British Olympic Association has been hot on marginal gains for a long time and we know Thomas Tuchel – who took his players on a training camp last summer and another in Miami this where work was done on dealing with the climate – has tapped into their expertise.

England were always expecting their fifth game of the tournament to be in Mexico City – this has absolutely not caught them on the hop.

The players should go into the match confident that whatever is thrown at their bodies, they could not be better prepared for it.

FAST STARTERS: Mexico are the only team to have won every game without conceding (Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

And they have enough to worry about with the football.

Along with Spain, Mexico are the only team yet to concede in this tournament. They, France and Argentina are the only sides with 100 per cent records at the time of writing. But nor have they faced anyone as good as Croatia, who England comfortably beat. Whether you want to be condescending about them, like former America goalkeeper Brad Friedel, or fearful is up to you.

The biggest thing England have to overcome is their own fallibilities, laid bare in the first four games.

Defenders are picking up injuries, others – led by Rice – are looking weary after long seasons. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are producing the moments that give hope, but the rest are below par.

Having finally come to the party in midweek, hopefully Anthony Gordon will stay now; hopefully the goal Jordan Pickford conceded against Congo was the kind of blip even the best goalkeepers have, not a symptom of something deeper.

Tuchel needs to get his defensive unit – not just his defence – tighter and understanding one another better, and the (partly enforced) chopping and changing of back fours is not helping.

A badly-constructed squad is another valid excuse for the post-mortem, not the present.

He needs to decide who should play at right-back and it might not be his only actual fit right-back. Former Middlesbrough and Leeds United full-back Djed Spence was excellent from the bench against Croatia but like the squad as a whole, disappointing since. Rice finished the Congo game well there, but when Arsenal used him as a fill-in at West Ham United in May, Mikel Arteta quickly had to reverse the decision to get back what he lost in midfield.

Taking Barnsley-born John Stones to this World Cup over fitter options only makes sense if he plays – after three games on the bench is it time he partnered Marc Guehi at last and Ezri Konsa shifted to full-back?

Further up, England have issues too after Ghana, Panama and Congo showcased how to frustrate them sitting deep in a 4-5-1 or 5-4-1. They need more craft to beat packed defences than they have sown thus far.

But England are good, better on paper than Mexico. Dwelling on excuses will only harm their chances.