The posters pitting Harry Kane against Raul Jimenez have been stuck to the restaurant doors and shop windows in Mexico City ever since England squeezed past DR Congo.
The Three Lions return to the Estadio Azteca tonight for the first time since the second-most famous match in their history, when the great Diego Maradona scored with his fist and then netted possibly the greatest goal in the history of the sport to win a memorable quarter-final tie.
40 years on, has a World Cup round-of-16 match ever been so steeped in narrative before it has even kicked off?
Even though tonight’s opponents are co-hosts Mexico and not Argentina, Thomas Tuchel insists England will still be out for “karma”.
They would get it, of a sort, if they prevailed at the Azteca, against a team who have won all four of their games at this World Cup without conceding a goal.
A place in the quarter-finals is the prize, against either Brazil or Norway, but England must focus on the almighty challenge that confronts them first.
The Estadio Azteca is the closest thing there is to a World Cup Mecca. It is the only stadium to have hosted the tournament three times and the only venue that has been the backdrop to both Maradona and Pele lifting the trophy.
“As for the altitude, I don't focus on that,” Mexico manager Javier Aguirre said yesterday. England have had no option but to.
Ever since the draw was made in Washington, D.C. in December of last year, the FA have had this potential meeting in Mexico City circled on the calendar. The Azteca sits 7,350 feet above sea level in the ninth highest-altitude capital city in the world.
England’s players will feel a shortness of breath, a thinness of air and a lethargy in recovery between sprints - the like of which they have never experienced before.
England will feel impacts from the high altitude that they have never experienced before
It typically takes 10 days to acclimatise fully to high-altitude locations like this. England arrived late on Friday night.
They have trained here once and players felt the difference. Tuchel had a headache that he has attributed to the altitude, and he and others struggled to sleep.
To make matters worse, not only are Mexico used to it, they are fully acclimatised to it during this tournament. All four of their matches at this World Cup have taken place on home soil, and they have been training here, too.
Though the level of opposition has not consistently been of the highest calibre, their competitive record at the Azteca is well-documented and enough to have convinced England internally that they are the underdogs.
Of their 89 previous competitive fixtures at the 87,523-capacity ground, Mexico have lost just twice. If England are to make that three, and progress to the last eight, they must manage the game expertly well.
Going a goal down early would set them a huge task to overcome the altitude - and Mexico’s raucous support - and get back into the game.
Tuchel, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi can claim all they like that England are the underdogs.
But if they manage the game sensibly and ensure their superior quality shows through, England can achieve one of their most impressive World Cup victories of the century. They must just keep enough energy in reserve for all 90 minutes, maybe more.
It is easy to see this being one of those long England nights. And not only because it kicks off at 1am on Monday morning in the UK and there is a serious threat of storm delays.
Should England beat Mexico in Mexico, they would become the first team ever to do so at a World Cup.
On top of the altitude, their strong form, home fans and imperious record at the Azteca, England’s hosts may not stop there in giving themselves every conceivable advantage.
The FA had wanted to keep England’s hotel in Mexico City under wraps, but the crowds swarming their team bus on arrival on Friday night put that plan to bed.
And on the topic of bed, England brought earplugs with them in case Mexican fans play music or even let off fireworks outside the England hotel to keep the players awake into the early hours the night before the game, just as happened to Ecuador before their round-of-32 meeting - leading to an official complaint to FIFA.
You’d be forgiven for feeling the elements have rather conspired against England for this one, hence why a two-word mantra has been repeated throughout their camp over the past few days: “No excuses”.
Focus in the lead-up has been on controlling the controllables, and it will be no different when the match begins.
“You can feel the energy of the place,” said Tuchel. “It just catches you straight away. This is a different animal — one of the most beautiful fixtures you can have.”
