England are taking precautions ahead of their arrival in Mexico to ensure their preparations are not disrupted by noisy locals intent on ruining the players’ rest and sleep.
Thomas Tuchel’s side take on Mexico in their World Cup round of 16 tie on Sunday (01:00 BST Monday) in a match shown live on BBC One and iPlayer.
The team is due to arrive in Mexico City on Friday, so will spend two nights in the capital before the game.
Ecuador, the last of Mexico’s 32 opponents, filed a complaint with FIFA after their team was deliberately kept awake by noisy Mexican fans who used loudspeakers, horns and motorcycles outside the team hotel late at night.
The Ecuadorian team are staying at the Westin Hotel in Mexico City and while England want to keep their location secret, there are fears the location will end up leaked on social media.
With this in mind, England players and staff who have not brought their own sleep aids, such as earplugs or sleep bands, should be offered natural sleep aids or white noise audio equipment to ensure that sleep is not affected.
Arriving two days before the game means a change in schedule for England, who had largely landed in the host city the night before.
However, FIFA rules at this stage of the tournament are for teams to hold a semi-open training session on site the day before the game.
England spent it in Kansas before flying to the American city where their game was being played.
However, England will now train in Mexico instead.
Other challenges England will face include playing Mexico at high altitude.
The average altitude of Mexico City is about 2,240 meters above sea level, which means there is less oxygen. This may affect the performance of some players, especially if they are not acclimated to the conditions.
To this end, Mexico played all four World Cup matches at high altitude: three matches at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and one in Guadalajara, which averages 1,566 meters above sea level.
Ideally, athletes competing at high altitude should spend a week or two living at this level so their bodies can acclimatize and produce more red blood cells.
Tuchel admitted his side will be at a disadvantage when England face Mexico this weekend.
“The altitude will be a big disadvantage because we physically won’t be able to adapt to it,” Tuchel said.
“And in four days this is simply impossible. New obstacles may arise, but we are ready for it.
“As far as I understand, we will not be able to adapt to the altitude. This is just a huge advantage that Mexico will have.
“It just takes too long. We only have three days between these matches. It is physically simply impossible to adapt to the altitude, which is quite high. We knew this before.
“It’s just something we’ll have to deal with. And I think we showed the attitude that we are ready for this.”