BEFORE I boarded my flight to Mexico for the World Cup, I’ll admit the nerves were kicking in.
I had been warned by family and friends to stay safe more there than I had been anywhere else, because if you listen to the outside noise and the negativity, it’s easy to inherit a warped, fearful view of the place.
But the second my feet touched Mexican soil, those doubts weren’t just disproved; they were absolutely shattered by a tidal wave of genuine human warmth, in a city that absolutely should be hosting the World Cup final, with one of the finest stadiums on the planet.
On behalf of every single England fan who made the journey, and from the bottom of my own heart: thank you, Mexico.
Your kindness has been utterly disarming, and it represents everything the World Cup is supposed to be about.
It says a lot about a country when you find yourself willingly trusting total strangers to give you electric shocks in the street for pure entertainment. It turns out nothing says “welcome to the party” quite like the famous toques game.
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Having made various bits of content about Mexico and the World Cup (Which is available to watch on my Instagram and TikTok, @LloydCanfeidFC), my comment sections were flooded with messages of “Welcome to Mexico” and “Mi Casa es tu Casa” or “My home is your home”.
The real magic was found away from the stadium security gates and right out in the streets.
We played football on the asphalt, laughing through language barriers, and at one point, a crowd of joyous Colombian fans quite literally threw me into the air in celebration, because they found it hilarious that I was English wearing a Mexican shirt, which I had picked up at a local market.
When I crashed back down and realised my AirPods had flown out into the chaos, I didn’t even have time to panic.
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A group of the kindest people you could ever meet immediately dropped to their knees to hunt through the crowds with their flashlights on and help me find them.
I arrived here with the typical arrogance of speaking only “un poco español”, and expecting everyone to speak English, but it didn’t matter that they didn’t.
Uber drivers were patient with my attempts to converse, and offered to speak into Google Translate, always guiding me on where was safe to go, and even giving me advice when I covered the somewhat-muted chaos outside of the England team hotel the night before the game.
Everyone made a conscious, patient effort to talk to me and make me feel at home. And it wasn’t just me experiencing the love.
Almost every single Three Lions fan I’ve spoken to over here has shared the same story.
We felt incredibly welcome before the match, we felt absolutely hated for the 90 minutes during the match, and we were met with nothing but open arms and beers the second the final whistle blew.
That is football exactly as it should be.
The camaraderie was everywhere you looked.
It was in the fans swapping shirts outside the press box, and a local lad in a green Mexico shirt filming two England fans belting out “Wonderwall” with pure joy, for no reason but to create a special moment for two opposing fans, which they will keep forever.
Even the crowds gathered outside the England team hotel were nothing but friendly, telling me I looked like Harry Styles, and a social media producer from the Daily Mail that he looked like Harry Kane…
I think I won that one.
The atmosphere and the sheer warmth of the people here are what make Latin America so profoundly special.
You have completely redefined hospitality for us.
So thank you, Mexico, for showing us the true heart of your beautiful country.
Now, if anyone from the FA is reading this, do the right thing: get Mexico booked for an international friendly at Wembley.
They deserve a fantastic battle on our turf, and we owe them the chance to return the hospitality.
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