England Hotel Gets 100-Plus Riot Police Guard as Mexico Match Stays at 8 p.m.
Updated
Updated · ESPN · Jul 4
England Hotel Gets 100-Plus Riot Police Guard as Mexico Match Stays at 8 p.m.
2 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jul 4
Summary
More than 100 riot police in bulletproof vests are guarding England’s Mexico City hotel after hundreds of fans gathered on arrival, booing and chanting “Mexico.”
Around 200 locals were still outside Saturday as officers from the Guardia Nacional lined a fenced perimeter, with a police dog, drone and the team bus stationed nearby.
England had hoped to keep the hotel secret after Mexico supporters used loudspeakers, horns and motorcycles to disrupt Ecuador before a 2-0 round-of-32 win on Wednesday.
Sunday’s round-of-16 match at Estadio Azteca will still kick off at 8 p.m. ET after FIFA weighed a storm-related change for 5½ hours and kept the original schedule.
The security operation adds to England’s challenge at 7,220 feet in Mexico City, where Mexico have lost only twice in 89 Azteca matches and are unbeaten in 10 World Cup games there.