- England heads into a heavyweight road test at Mexico’s Azteca — high altitude, a hostile crowd and potential gamesmanship make Sunday’s match as much theatre as football.
- Host nations often get a boost — six World Cups have been won by the hosts (most recently France in 1998), so home advantage matters.
- World Cups are full of dramatic home heartbreaks and controversies (Brazil’s 1950 “Maracanazo,” England’s debated 1966 Hurst goal, 2002 officiating complaints), which only raises the stakes for this fixture.
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