Mexico fans brought music and fireworks to England in their latest hotel serenade before their World Cup Round of 16 match Sunday at Azteca Stadium, but this one might not prompt a noise complaint, as “early indications from the England camp are it had little to no impact on the players,” according to Reuters.
Videos on social media depicted the scenes — with trumpets, drums and dancing — outside the Marriott Sante Fe hotel, with police blocking off the area surrounding the hotel while reportedly donning riot gear as fans, in the early hours of the morning, tried to disrupt sleep as much as possible.
“I wanted to see how many people would be out here,” Cesar Roldan, a resident in the area, told The Athletic. “I see this as a positive thing, but it won’t affect the game tomorrow. The England players won’t even hear us here.”
One woman told her son that “this is part of our folklore,” according to The Athletic, while the outlet added that it was much smaller in scale than the serenade ahead of the Round of 32 match that prompted complaints from Ecuador.
Before that match last week, which Mexico subsequently won 2-0, fans reportedly gathered outside Ecuador’s hotel at the Westin Santa Fe, prompting the country’s soccer federation to complain and release a statement blasting the conduct as something that’s “far removed from the principles of fair play, equality and unity that a football World Cup should represent.”
“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,” the federation continued in its statement, according to the Associated Press.
Police then began to set up road blocks ahead of England’s stay.
Mexico, which opened the World Cup by winning four consecutive matches, can advance to its first quarterfinals since 1986 with a victory, but England has been fueled by Harry Kane — who has collected five goals this tournament — and used his brace to erase a deficit and defeat Congo DR in the Round of 32.
The winner will advance to face either Brazil or Norway on Saturday in Miami.
