Oliver Craxton is the rare England fan who has wonderful memories of the legendary – and somewhat notorious – 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico™ quarter-final between his beloved Three Lions and Argentina. That is because while Diego Maradona was eliminating England with the “Hand of God” and his ensuing “Goal of the Century”, Craxton was in the stands at Mexico City Stadium meeting his future wife.

“So how we met was a complete coincidence. We were not supposed to be here. And we sat in the wrong seats. And we ended up there,” explained Sofía Craxton, a Mexico fan who attended that iconic match as a neutral. “And then we sat next to each other and we started chatting. And we both like Manchester United. So that was a big thing.” She continued, “And then we just had drinks after. I showed Oli around Mexico City. And then he invited me to London. And we were writing to each other. Lots of letters.”

Oliver returned to Mexico in 1989 and proposed to Sofía at the historic pyramids in Teotihuacán, and the couple was married the following year. They have been in living in London and pondering a return trip to the stadium where they met. The FIFA World Cup 2026™ then served up a perfect, almost cosmic reason to make the trip: the Mexico v England round of 16 match. The Craxtons toured the stadium ahead of the game and then will be back in the renowned ground as fans – 40 years after meeting there – when their respective countries meet on 5 July.

“We always wanted to come back to the Azteca Stadium because it’s just amazing – this amazing place,” Sofía said. “It is an amazing place,” Oliver concurred. “We never had the chance,” Sofía continued. “We’ve been here (in Mexico City) many times, but we didn’t have the chance to come to see the stadium. And when we knew there was going to be the (FIFA) World Cup here, we decided we are going to come to the stadium. Even if it is from a distance, we need to come back. And everybody has been so generous, and it’s just amazing. Now we are here in the Azteca Stadium. Look at this! We are in the Azteca Stadium. It’s just fantastic.”

The match-up of storied football nations and tournament contenders will captivate the globe and has elicited some complex emotions for the Craxtons. “When they chose the countries, the guy at the BBC said, ‘Mexico and England could meet.’ And I thought, ‘Oh, my God!’ I thought that would be great, but now I think we’re a bit scared,” Sofía said.

“We’re a bit scared,” Oliver agreed. “We’ll be happy whoever wins,” Sofía said. “Yeah, exactly. I’m an honorary Mexican, so you know. Well, I consider myself to be an honorary Mexican,” Oliver said. “I have a Mexican football shirt just over there, and I’ll be wearing both tomorrow.”

Although their story is uniquely personal, the Craxtons are keenly aware of the broader symbolism. Their love of football brought them together. It connected two strangers from different countries and cultures and helped forge a bond that transcended their differences and the distance between them. Over the past 40 years, and during their trip to Mexico for the FIFA World Cup 2026, the Craxtons have seen the same dynamic at work all around them. “One of things I really like is when people – we were in the Zócalo [the historic centre of Mexico City] the other day, and there were people from different parts of the world, young people like we were, meeting, chatting, exchanging things. It’s really lovely. We really like that,” Sofía said. “Football unites people.” Oliver said, “It really brings people together, as you say. It’s fantastic. It’s just a sport that everybody can enjoy and play if they want to.”