We're better than the Mexicans, we're better than the Mexicans.
While it didn't do Mike Bassett's England any good, with all of the chat around the altitude at the Azteca, it might prove worthwhile to Thomas Tuchel's bunch to remind themselves that they are simply better than the Mexicans.
Despite Tuchel signing a new contract before the World Cup, England could have found themselves looking for a replacement but for Harry Kane's late brace against DR Congo to secure a place in the round of 16.
England have frequently found themselves at a crossroads when looking for a new manager. A lack of top-quality English managers has seen the FA appoint foreign coaches, and when that approach failed, they've returned to unsuitable English coaches.
In the run-up to the 2002 World Cup, Bassett was deemed the most suitable -- or perhaps least unsuitable -- candidate for the job having led Norwich City to the Mr Clutch Cup, and was tasked with overseeing England's final three qualifying matches.
Despite taking a lead in his opening game, Bassett's men went on to lose 2-1 at Wembley to Poland. The inclusion of Tony Hedges and Ron Benson from the third tier for Bassett's second outing raised plenty of eyebrows with England going on to lose 3-0 to Belgium.
It meant that to have a realistic chance of qualifying, England needed to beat Slovenia at home while hoping Turkey would drop points at home to Luxembourg. A red card for Gary Wackett left England up against it before being handed a reprieve when awarded a penalty, only for Rufus Smalls to blaze his effort over the bar as Bassett's side were held to a 0-0 draw.
But in a remarkable turn of fortune, Luxembourg beat Turkey 2-0 to send England through on goal difference.
With tougher tests against Mexico and Argentina to come, England's 0-0 draw in their opener with Egypt represented a major setback as fan dissent grew.
Then behind 2-0 at half-time to Mexico, the Three Lions went on to lose 4-0, leaving their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.
In a closely fought affair with Argentina, a moment of magic from Kevin Tonkinson was all that separated the two teams and England qualified for the last 16.
Beating Romania 3-0 and then France 2-0, England were eventually knocked out by hosts Brazil, losing 1-0 before losing the third-place play-off, matching their best World Cup result since 1966.
England's record under Mike Bassett
Fixture | Competition | Date | Result |
Poland (H) | World Cup Qualifying | 12 April 2001 | 2-1 (L) |
Belgium (A) | World Cup Qualifying | 20 September 2001 | 3-0 (L) |
Slovenia (H) | World Cup Qualifying | 18 November 2001 | 0-0 (D) |
Egypt (N) | World Cup (Group F) | 15 June 2002 | 0-0 (D) |
Mexico (N) | World Cup (Group F) | 19 June 2002 | 4-0 (L) |
Argentina (N) | World Cup (Group F) | 7 July 2002 | 1-0 (W) |
Romania (N) | World Cup (R16) | 12 July 2002 | 3-0 (W) |
France (N) | World Cup (QF) | 16 July 2002 | 2-0 (W) |
Brazil (N) | World Cup (SF) | 21 July 2002 | 1-0 (L) |
