Harry Kane insists England are ready to “write their own history” in the Azteca Stadium. Forty years ago, Diego Maradona’s infamous Hand of God goal helped Argentina knock England out of the World Cup in Mexico City.Kane actually met the late Maradona nine years ago and has a different memory of England’s worst football enemy. But Kane is still hungry and determined for England to enjoy victory this time in Mexico City against the joint hosts.England captain Kane said: “Mexico is going to be special for the atmosphere, the fans, the stadium itself. A World Cup knockout game.“When you think of a big World Cup game, this is probably as big as it gets in terms of atmosphere. We’re really looking forward to the experience.‌“It’s an historic stadium for many different reasons. A tough one to take as an Englishman after that game in particular but it was a long, long time ago. Forty years ago now.“It’s about writing our own history, we know we have the chance to do something really special in a special stadium away from home. There is nothing better than that feeling of winning in a tough away game. It’s not about the past, it’s about what we can do in the future. We have a great opportunity to have a special evening on Sunday.”Kane recalled that meeting with Maradona in October 2017 when the former Argentina star was a guest at Wembley for a Tottenham game while they played their home games at the national stadium as their new ground was being built.That video has resurfaced this week as Maradona appeared to give Kane tips on finishing as they shared a chat and a joke rather than the Hand of God. Kane said: “We didn’t talk about that game. It’s not a game many English people want to talk about to be honest. He was great when I met him.‌“We only spoke briefly. There was a clip of him talking about me finishing and giving the keeper the eyes. It’s quite a nice clip actually.”Kane also hopes that England’s win over DR Congo could be a turning point as they have not played at their best for much of the tournament - but found a way to win.Kane added: “I’ve spoken before in other tournaments about peaking at the right time. It’s really important. You very rarely see the team come out of the gates hot and then sustain that all the way through to the end. It happens but quite rarely.‌“Tournament football is about getting used to each other. A lot of us play for different clubs,[so it’s about] understanding each other’s games, and you hope as the tournament goes on those connections build even more and you get stronger.“What you do learn in tournament football is that there’s not always a perfect way to win. Of course we want to play a great game.“We hope that we can play our style and play attacking football and keep a clean sheet and all these things but we’re also coming up against a team who are playing at home, playing for pride, playing for place in the next round of the World Cup.‌“It’s not always as simple as that. You might need to grind it out. You might need to find a difficult way to win. I think we’ve all been in changing rooms where you do find a way to win.“You get through it and it brings togetherness even more, especially in an environment we’re about to walk into. We’ll prepare like we prepare every game. We’re ready to go. There’s no excuses from our side. We’re ready to step up to that challenge.“It’s going to be a really tough game for many different reasons. First of all they’re a really good team. They’re having a great World Cup so far.“We’re at that stage of the tournament now where if you get the ball rolling and things ticking as we know we can it’s kind of the peak time to do that. So there’s no excuses in a game like this. We know it will be tough.‌“We know we might have to grind it out. We might have to find a different way to win. But that’s what the World Cup is about. I think everyone’s looking forward to the occasion, the stadium, the atmosphere, and ultimately putting yourself in those games.“That’s why you train like we do. That’s why you play football, it’s to have these epic games. Especially sometimes away from home where the atmosphere makes you even more hungry to prove yourself.“I think that’s what you see in the game on Sunday and if we do get through it will only give us more momentum going into the quarter-final.”‌Should England overcome Mexico - and book their spot in the World Cup quarter-finals for the third successive tournament - the nation will certainly have reason to celebrate. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer extended pub opening hours even before FIFA got involved with the kick-off time for England’s last 16 showdown with Mexico.But Kane says the whole squad are desperate for fans back home to enjoy an unforgettable win over Mexico in the Azteca Stadium. When asked whether England want to make it a night to remember, Kane said: “Absolutely! Obviously good news that the pubs are staying open for the fans.“We know how much the World Cup means to everyone and all the fans at home. So I'm hoping there will be a few all-nighters to be honest, just going all the way through, and celebrating until the next day and then catch up on some sleep after that.“Obviously it's very late and we all appreciate the support. That's what sometimes makes the World Cup unique, is these different timings and different memories that you create. I think everyone would love nothing more than to be celebrating as the sun's rising at 5, 6am.”‌Before even turning their attentions to any celebrations, England have to get to grips with the Azteca stadium. Mexico have an intimidating home record and also play at 7,200 feet above sea level in the Azteca Stadium but Kane insists that the whole squad can hit the heights.He said: “There is not much we could do with altitude training. We did heat training in Florida for 10 days to acclimatise. The altitude was almost impossible to prepare for. Unless we stayed in Mexico the whole time or based there for 10 days.“Logistically that would’ve been great for the rest of the tournament. It wouldn’t have been worth it. it’s a big talking point and will have a small difference but we’re professional athletes, we have to deal with adversity every now and then.‌“We’re doing as much as we can with little tips to help us. We’ll have to deal with it. There is no other way around it. If we get through it then all of those things will make the win feel even more special.”Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.