Ten-men England beat Mexico 3-2 to book their spot in the Quarter-Finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Jude Bellingham nodded England into a 36th-minute lead before he turned in a second goal two minutes later to put Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions in control at half-time, despite Julian Quinones’ 42nd-minute rebound volley for the tournament co-hosts.
England’s Jarell Quansah was shown a red card in the 54th minute for a fair tackle on Jesus Gallardo, in which he caught the Mexican on the follow through after initial contact with the ball.
Harry Kane eventually netted England’s winner from a 60th-minute penalty into the bottom-left corner after Anthony Gordon had been fouled by Raul Rangel two minutes earlier.
Raul Jimenez however gave Mexico futile hope with a 69th-minute penalty after Kane was adjudged to had made a high-footed tackle on Brian Gutierrez, as the home side suffered their first home loss in a World Cup match played at Estadio Azteca.
England will now meet Norway in their Quarter-Final tie at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday 11 July at 5pm EDT (10pm BST), after Erling Haaland’s brace fired the Norwegians to a shock 2-1 victory over Brazil.
Despite an one-hour delay due to thunderstorms and a rowdy home atmosphere, England enjoyed a lively start as Bukayo Saka forced Rangel into a 14th-minute of his tame left-footed volley from Marc Guehi’s direct cross.
Mexico however posed their own threat as just a minute later, Jordan Pickford made a left-handed deflection to tip Raul Jimenez’s header away from the near-bottom right corner.
Gordon then forced Rangel into a 26th-minute save with a low shot, having kept a pass in play by stepping beyond the byline himself before he swept into space to put a low tightly-angled shot on goal.
England’s patience was rewarded from a quick 36th-minute breakaway attack after Pickford saved a direct cross which he fed to Rice, who burst up the right side to tee up Saka to put in a cross which Bellingham nodded into the bottom-left corner to put the Three Lions in front.
Mexico didn’t have much time to digest the reality of having conceded for the first time at this tournament when just two minutes later, when Elliot Anderson made an interception and found Kane who ran to the right side of the box to slide a cross in when Bellingham tucked away to double England’s lead.
The tournament co-hosts however pulled a goal back in the 42nd minute as a free-kick was deflected towards Quinones and the 29 year-old smashed a right-footed volley in to reduce their deficit.
Jimenez then fired wide in the first minute of injury time before he saw a header tipped behind the top-left corner by Pickford two minutes later, and his headed pass from the subsequent corner was lashed over by Cesar Montes via deflection from Bellingham.
Nico O’Reilly nearly extended England lead in the 49th minute but struck the right post as Tuchel’s Three Lions began on the front foot.
Referee, Alireza Faghani however dealt England a 54th-minute blow with a red card for Quansah following a VAR review, after the right-back had brought down Gallardo two minutes earlier with a high right foot in a well-timed sliding tackle which left Mexico begging for his dismissal.
England however responded to Mexico’s hostile antics by winning a 58th-minute penalty as Gordon pounced on Kane’s headed pass, only to be brought down by Rangel.
Kane stepped up on the hour mark and dispatched the penalty into the bottom left corner to extend England’s lead much to the annoyance of Mexico fans, who in response dialled up their hostile noise.
Mexico however won a penalty of their own in the 67th minute after VAR ruled that Kane fouled Gutierrez with a high-footed right-foot tackle, despite the Mexican having got first contact on a dinking ball.
Jimenez stepped up in the 69th minute and like Kane, he too netted his spot-kick into the bottom left corner to cut Mexico’s deficit.
England eventually dug deep defensively to become the first team to beat Mexico at Estadio Azteca which ended the hosts’ unbeaten 10-match World Cup record – which consisted of eight wins and two draws – in their iconic stadium.
Tuchel post-match told BBC that he was proud of the team’s performance and mental attitude in a difficult contest.
“Very proud. We needed everything. It was super difficult. In the moments we thought we catch the momentum, we had setbacks. That is proper mentality.
“This team really mean it. When the going gets tough, they never give up, they never lose belief. It was one step more.
“We need to take this in. This is Azteca, it’s Mexico, a crazy game. We left everything out there, every single one of us. We need to take this in, now it’s full steam ahead.”
Teams
Mexico: Raul Rangel, Jorge Sanchez (Fidalgo 79′), Cesar Montes (Alvarez 46′), Johan Vasquez, Jesus Gallardo, Gilberto Mora (Gimenez 61′), Erik Lira, Luis Romo (Gutierrez 61′), Roberto Alvarado, Raul Jimenez, Julian Quinones (Martinez 81′)
Substitutes: Carlos Acevedo, Mateo Chavez, Luis Chavez, Alvaro Fidalgo, Santiago Gimenez, Armando Gonzalez, Brian Gutierrez, Cesar Huerta, Guillermo Martinez, Guillermo Ochoa, Orbelin Pineda, Israel Reyes, Obed Vargas, Alexis Vega, Edson Alvarez
England: Jordan Pickford, Jarell Quansah, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly (Spence 74′), Elliot Anderson (Burn 75′), Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka (Stones 57′), Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane (Rogers 90′)
Substitutes: Dan Burn, Trevoh Chalobah, Eberechi Eze, Jordan Henderson, Dean Henderson, Reece James, Noni Madueke, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, Morgan Rogers, Djed Spence John Stones, Ivan Toney, James Trafford, Ollie Watkins
Referee – Alireza Faghani (Australia)
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