Robinson remembers a very different matchday operation, with soldiers, police and tanks surrounding the ground. Yet the response afterwards was unexpectedly practical rather than hostile.
“I jumped in one. There were no seat belts or health and safety issues back then,” he said.
The story captures the scale of the occasion. England’s travelling support had entered a charged environment, but local authorities still helped move fans back towards the city after the final whistle. It was an extraordinary contrast between heavy security and spontaneous hospitality.
The match remains one of the most famous in World Cup history because of Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” and his later “Goal of the Century”. Robinson says the first incident was not understood immediately.
“We didn't even know it was handball until we got back to the hotel after the game,” he said. “We assumed it was a header.”
The political backdrop was also impossible to ignore. The quarter-final came only four years after the Falklands War, although Robinson recalls Mexican supporters being friendly towards England.
“I'm not sure if they had some sort of rivalry with the Argentinians,” he said. “They were very friendly. It will be different on Sunday.”
That final observation is the key. The modern Azteca will not necessarily repeat the extraordinary policing arrangements of 1986, but the intensity of the setting remains part of its identity. Mexico’s support can turn a match into a city-wide occasion, placing enormous pressure on visiting supporters and players alike.
When England walk out at the Azteca on Sunday, Robinson’s memories will give the fixture more than historical colour. They will underline the atmosphere awaiting them - and the next chapter in the stadium’s remarkable World Cup story.