To further reduce altitude panic, here’s the Memory Lane I wrote for Football Daily yesterday. Hopefully Motty’s words will help put England fans at ease.
MEMORY LANE
While that game against Argentina in the 1986 World Cup is the one we associate with England in the Azteca, it’s worth a reminder that the Three Lions do have winning form in Mexico’s iconic home stadium. Fresh from a hat-trick against Poland in the final group game, Gary Lineker scored twice in a 3-0 win against Paraguay in the last 16. Just before two Gary Stevens were involved in the buildup to Lineker’s second goal, the BBC’s John Motson chirped: “England have adjusted ever so well … 6,000 feet higher up than we were [the group games took place in Monterrey, a mere 1,800 feet above sea level] but we’re running as hard and as well as the Paraguayans.” Lineker quickly checked to see if he was offside before celebrating with the Tottenham Gary Stevens and a mass of white England shirts in the crowd of 98,728.
