England will delay their arrival to Mexico City to guard against fears of spying ahead of their World Cup last-16 clash with Mexico.
The Three Lions will play Mexico in their last-16 match at Azteca Stadium on Sunday, with the game kicking off at 1am BST on Monday morning.
Thomas Tuchel’s side face a daunting task up against the tournament co-hosts, who have yet to concede a goal this tournament and play their matches 2,240 meters above sea level.
England are due to arrive in Mexico City on Friday and will spend two nights in the capital before the game.
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That decision is in part to try and avoid the most severe effects of altitude sickness that tend to kick in between three and nine days.
But widespread reports also suggest that England feared that key training sessions in the build-up would be targetted by spies looking to gain valuable insight on their team shape and selection.
Instead, those sessions will take place at England’s tournament base in Kansas City, where England have screened-off training pitches and a heavy security presence provided by the local police.
Even if England progress past this last-16 clash, Tuchel and England still intend to return to Kansas for the build-up to their later knockout matches.
The issue of spying in football came to the fore late last season when Southampton were ejected from the Championship play-off final after admitting to spying on the training sessions of semi-final opponents Middlesbrough.
Two years ago at the Olympic games, Canada women’s national team were given a six-point deduction after being caught using a drone to watch New Zealand train.
Alongside their fears over spying, England also have concerns that the location of their hotal will be leaked and targeted by Mexico supporters before their match.
It was an issue that plagued Ecuador, who were beaten by Mexico in the round of 32 on Wednesday, with their players kept awake by the home fans the night before the game.
From midnight until the early hours of the morning on the day of the match, supporters gathered outside the Westin Hotel in Mexico City where Ecuador’s squad was staying and used car horns, motorcycles and loudspeakers to disturb the players.
Ecuador have since submitted a complaint to Fifa, which said: ‘Such conduct stands in stark contrast to the principles of fair play, equity, and unity that a World Cup should embody,’ the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) said in a statement.
‘The FEF respectfully calls upon the competent authorities to pay greater attention to these events and to adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the safety of our players, coaching staff, and fans.’
England’s team hotel in Mexico is expected to have roadblocks around its perimeter to try and guard against pre-game disruption.
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