English team England now belongs to the 2026 quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup after overcoming the fight back of a Mexican team to win 3-2 at Estadio Azteca.
The Three Lions seemed in complete control after Jude Bellingham’s first-half brace and Harry Kane’s second-half penalty, but Mexico fought back and kept England under relentless pressure until the final whistle.
The match itself started an hour later than scheduled due to heavy rain. Mexico harnessed the energy of a full home crowd when play started and came out playing with a lot of fun; pressing England quickly with aggressive attacks.
Despite Mexico’s early dominance, England scored first in the 36th minute with Jude Bellingham. Bukayo Saka made a pinpoint cross into the penalty area and the midfielder climbed high to head past goalkeeper Raúl Rangel to give England the advantage in the match.
The Three Lions doubled their lead just minutes later. Harry Kane led a swift counterattack and slipped a perfectly weighted pass into Bellingham’s path. The Real Madrid midfielder kept his cool and slotted the ball into the net to complete a brilliant first-half brace.
Mexico responded just before halftime when Julián Quiñones took advantage of a defensive lapse to cut the deficit and kick start the game again. England needed Jordan Pickford to make a remarkable save to deny Raúl Jiménez, and Bellingham also made a crucial goal-saving play in his own penalty area to keep the lead at halftime.
But England’s job became far more difficult when defender Jarell Quansah was red carded in the second half. Jesús Gallardo was initially given a yellow but the challenge was upgraded to a straight red after a VAR review and England had to enter the final 30 minutes with 10 men.
Despite being down to just one man, England had their two-goal cushion restored. Anthony Gordon scored a penalty when Raúl Rangel brought him down in the box and captain Harry Kane confidently converted from the spot to make it 3-1.
Mexico refused to surrender. A VAR review also awarded the hosts a penalty after Kane’s high boot caught Érik Gutiérrez in the area. Raúl Jiménez made no mistake from 12 yards and England’s lead was cut to 3-2 and the match appeared to be coming down to the wire.
The final fifteen minutes were dominated by Mexico who pushed everything to the wire for an equaliser in both teams. England was trapped in their half by the Mexican attackers who pressed them at the back. Crosses sailed into the penalty area as Pickford and England’s defence defended well and remained strong under pressure.
Jiménez came agonisingly close to forcing extra time in stoppage time and after another dangerous attack he shot over the crossbar. England survived 11 minutes of added time before the referee’s final whistle brought relief for Gareth Southgate’s players.
The hard-fought victory will take England to the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals where they will meet Norway in what will be another blockbuster match. Norway will have confidence at their back after beating five-time champions Brazil 2-1 with Erling Haaland scoring both goals to eliminate one of the tournament favourites.
But England will now hope to continue their World Cup journey, knowing there is even more work ahead against a Norwegian side inspired by one of the most lethal strikers in the competition.
