England midfielder Jordan Henderson has dismissed rumours that the team are using Viagra to manage the high altitude in Mexico City ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup round of 16 match against Mexico at the Estadio Azteca.
The England squad have been focusing on acclimatising to the challenging conditions nearly 2,000 metres above sea level. While Henderson addressed the speculation with humour, he and head coach Thomas Tuchel acknowledged the altitude presents a genuine physical challenge.
Tuchel told reporters, “The information to support it (Viagra rumours) didn’t reach me, so that’s not true.” Meanwhile, Henderson joked, “Well, the Viagra helped, I think… I’m joking! It was a joke.” He added, “You can feel it a little bit, you can feel something. I felt it a little bit, even when you just land and you come to the hotel, and you’re just walking around, you can feel something. And then today, in training, for me personally, I felt that maybe in the first 10-15 minutes and then once training got going, I stopped thinking about it so much and just concentrated on training.”
According to reports, Viagra is not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which has led to suggestions it could be used as a performance aid. England face a strong Mexican side with a dominant home record and are preparing to overcome the disadvantage of the high altitude at the Estadio Azteca on July 6.