Ray

Gooner, geek and sports junkie. 🔴⚪️🤓

[Ray @ray_rodz]

🥹

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Football is everywhere in Mexico City. It’s embedded in this vibrant city, in these people, in the fabric of life here. Its stars’ images adorn billboards on buildings. Its stories dominate conversations about the selection, opposition, ambition and now this epic collision with England at Azteca for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup co-hosted by Mexico.

Football is on everyone’s lips, and on every street. Racks of Mexico shirts are pushed along the side of the road, blending in with traffic-slowed cars, some of which already have green flags flying from the windows. People go about their work in Mexico shirts as if it’s the office uniform. Two dogs are led through town wearing miniature replica shirts. That’s normal. That’s life here.

A group of triumphant schoolboy footballers, still in full kit, stand on a street corner posing for pictures with their trophy and passing fans in Brazil, Colombia or USA shirts. Yards away, workers erect huge security barriers to prevent fans climbing on bus shelters and monuments for better views of the many public screens showing footage from Azteca.

Football is everywhere from the moment you enter Mexico. In the immigration official who wanted to talk Raul Jimenez’s exit from Fulham. In the bakery with celebratory team cakes adorned with green icing. In the art exhibition with a centre-piece of 10 footballs painted by children. In the waitress in a side-street café promising access to match tickets for a couple of England fans. Not cheap.

Football seeps from the cracks in the pavements, from every pore of this city of chaos and charm. Visitors from US venues are immediately struck by the feeling of moving up a level. “I felt the passion straight away,” Thomas Tuchel said. “As soon as we landed in Mexico City, you feel the energy of the place, you see the people on the side of the street, getting a glimpse of the bus, people in front of the hotel. It makes you feel alive. It makes you sharper. I see the excitement in the players’ eyes.”

And so they should be excited. They get to perform on one of world football's great stages, the Azteca, where Pele and Diego Maradona lifted the World Cup, playing in front of 72,000 fans, all but 8,000 of them imploring Jimenez and the dangerous left-sided Julian Quinones to wreak havoc on England’s uncertain defence. Forget the feared meteorological storm; England face an early whirlwind blowing towards them as Mexico love to start strong, drawing on their bodies' greater connection with the altitude.

England are out of their comfort zone, at altitude, and so far out of their usual time zone that they play a game on a Sunday their fans back home watch on a Monday. They face hosts who have lost only two of 89 competitive internationals at Azteca. It’s all about whether England get tied up emotionally in all the talk of altitude and the Azteca’s reputation as a serial ambush site. Or just focus on the job in hand, beating a decent but not great team ranked below them in the Fifa standings.

“The stadium can create momentum and belief in the home team,” Tuchel added with a strong caveat. “We have very experienced players, who play up against the toughest teams for their clubs. It takes a lot of courage to get a top performance in Azteca stadium, against Mexico, but we have a brave team. You're in such an iconic place. It makes me feel very alive. It brings out the best of myself.”

Tuchel is aware of England’s last visit, 40 years ago, and the Hand of God of Argentina’s Maradona. Different opposition, same venue. “That was just painful, still hurts, but we're not here for revenge. We’re here to write our own chapter and we are ready. We have the spirit, we have the commitment to be together, to compete, to give everything for the nation back home to be proud.” If they raise their defensive game, England have a chance. #ENG #MEXENG #FIFAWorldCup

[Ray @ray_rodz]

¿Y SI SÍ?

[Ray @ray_rodz]

@SerchRC Aguirre es un terrorista.

[Ray @ray_rodz]

¿Por qué?

[Selección Nacional @miseleccionmx]

#Alineación 📋

Once mexicanos, un mismo escudo y el respaldo de todo un país. ¡Vamos juntos! 💚🤍❤️

#SomosMéxico 🇲🇽

[Ray @ray_rodz]

Este análisis explica muy bien por qué Javier Aguirre no me convence como DT. México puede tener esbozos de intensidad, orgullo e identidad pero también muestra lagunas claras de estructura, presión y cohesión defensiva. Apelar al sentimiento ayuda a competir, no a trascender.

[EBL @EBL2017]

Mexico's identity is clear.

3-1-6 high.

Sometimes with Lira dropping into the first line and Reyes high.

Or, most commonly, Reyes with in the first line and Lira in the #6 with Fidalgo higher.

Alvarado holds the width on the right, Gallardo pushes up from left back with Quiñones tucked inside.

Gutiérrez loose in the #10.

THREAD!👇

[Ray @ray_rodz]

Un like y cuento la historia. 😭😂

[Ray @ray_rodz]

Been there, experienced that. ⚡️⚽️🏟️

[Futbol de Inglaterra @Mercado_Ingles]

🚨🌎 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔. Los partidos del Mundial podrían sufrir interrupciones MUY LARGAS en caso de tormentas!

En Estados Unidos, la ley es clara: si se detecta un rayo en un radio de aproximadamente 13 km alrededor de un estadio, el partido se interrumpe INMEDIATAMENTE. Los jugadores deben regresar a los vestuarios y los espectadores son puestos a salvo.

Ya sucedió en el Mundial de Clubes 2025 en varios partidos y podría volver a suceder. El partido solo puede reanudarse después de 30 minutos sin un nuevo rayo detectado. Con cada nuevo impacto, el contador se reinicia a cero... ❌⛈️

[Athletic]

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

A season to be proud of.

We pushed the boundaries over land and sea, and couldn't have done it without your support. Thank you, Gooners ❤️

[Ray @ray_rodz]

Chale.

[Ray @ray_rodz]

20 años después, volvemos a jugar el partido más importante de futbol a nivel de clubes. Pase lo que pase, qué gran temporada, qué alegría me han dado. Los amo tanto @Arsenal. ❤️🤍

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️

Your Champions League final line-up.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

Standing on the brink of history.

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

We all deserve this ❤️

[HandofArsenal @HandofArsenal]

Greatest picture I have laid eyes on

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

LIFT IT UP ©️

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

Party on the streets of north London 🕺

[Premier League @premierleague]

Worth the wait.

@Arsenal win their first title in 22 years.

[B/R Football @brfootball]

22 years since the Invincibles.

Arsenal are Champions again ❤️

[Arsenal @Arsenal]

This belongs to all of us.