Mexico Fans Blast Horns to Disrupt England Players' Sleep at Hotel Before World Cup 2026 Match

Mexico fans are not exactly making life easy for the England national team ahead of Sunday's highly anticipated men's World Cup matchup.

Carlos Rodríguez of the Associated Press reported "dozens of Mexican fans gathered outside the England national team's hotel until the early hours of Sunday morning" and used a combination of fireworks, horns and loudspeakers in an effort to "disrupt players' sleep" prior to the round of 16 contest against Mexico.

For his part, England manager Thomas Tuchel said, "We have a 6 p.m. (Sunday) kickoff, so if we miss some hours of sleep, we'll make them up in the late morning."

Rodríguez explained that "these late-night hotel 'serenades' are an entrenched and polarizing tradition in Latin American football. While they began as a passionate display of support for the home team, they have increasingly evolved into a psychological weapon designed to deprive opponents of sleep."

Mexico fans did the same ahead of their team's round of 32 win over Ecuador, which prompted the Ecuadorian football federation to file a formal complaint.

It seems like there will be a hostile atmosphere awaiting England inside Estadio Azteca as well:

England's ability to handle Estadio Azteca and everything that comes with it has been a primary storyline leading into the game even before the team had its sleep disrupted.

After all, the stadium is approximately 7,220 feet above sea level. Mexico has also lost just twice in 89 competitive fixtures at the stadium with both defeats coming back in 2013.

Dealing with the altitude and crowd noise is challenging enough on its own with a full night's sleep, and it seems like Harry Kane and Co. might not be on a full night's sleep when Sunday's game kicks off.

Still, Kane is a world-class player who scored five goals in England's first four games of this World Cup. If he can continue playing at such a level, the tactics from the Mexico fans outside the hotel won't matter as much.