Thomas Tuchel shut down a strange pre-match rumor before Mexico vs England, saying he had not received any such information or help. The England manager was answering questions hours before the round-of-16 game scheduled for 2 a.m. French time.
Tuchel Answers Before Kickoff
The question came as England prepared for a round-of-16 match at 2,200 meters altitude in Mexico City, a setting that already made the trip to the Estadio Azteca unusual. Tuchel said, "Je n'ai pas reçu ces informations ni cette aide, donc…"
Jordan Henderson then handled the same rumor with a joke in front of journalists. He said, "Eh bien, le Viagra m’a aidé… Je plaisante, c’était une blague!"
Mexico City Altitude
The British press had reported that England staff had considered using Viagra to stimulate oxygen circulation in the blood, reduce fatigue, and make acclimatization easier. The claim centered on the physical demands of playing at altitude, and the source places the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City at 2,240 meters.
That is close to the 2,200 meters tied to the match itself, a small gap that still points to the same problem for visiting players: thin air and less room for error in a knockout game. Mexico had only two defeats at the Estadio Azteca in 56 years, with those losses coming in 2001 against Costa Rica and in 2013 against Honduras.
Estadio Azteca Record
The setting only sharpened the rumor’s reach. Mexico had never lost a World Cup match at the Estadio Azteca in ten games, and the round-of-16 meeting with England was due to be played there on the night from Sunday to Monday at 2 a.m. French time.
For England, the immediate issue was not the rumor itself but the need to strip it of any weight before kickoff. Tuchel did that directly, Henderson laughed it off, and the rest of the story sits on the pitch in Mexico City.
