England’s Harry Kane and Marc Guehi celebrate after the match
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Jude Bellingham recorded a brace, and Harry Kane scored his sixth goal of the World Cup and added an assist as England outlasted Mexico 3-2 in a round of 16 instant classic on Sunday (July 5, 2026) night at Mexico City.
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England played a man down for the last 48 minutes, including 12 in stoppage time, after Jarell Quansah picked up a straight red card, handing Mexico a rare loss at Estadio Azteca.
England will face Norway in the quarterfinals on July 11 at Miami Gardens, U.S., Norway defeated Brazil 2-1 earlier Sunday (July 5).
Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez scored goals as Mexico fell to England at the famed stadium since it opened in 1966.
The start of the match was delayed an hour due to fierce rainstorms in the 7,200-foot elevation but the weather was a nonfactor during the intense match.
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made three saves, while Mexico counterpart Raul Rangel stopped two shots.
Mexico had a 21-6 edge in shots and put six on target to England’s five.
England looked in trouble when they went down to 10 players while holding a 2-1 lead.
Quansah made a sliding tackle on Mexico’s Jesus Gallardo, and his high spikes collided with Gallardo’s left shin. The play was reviewed and Quansah was given a red card in the 54th minute.
Six minutes later, England padded their lead. The sequence started with a long ball bouncing into the Mexico box. England’s Anthony Gordon was in pursuit and Rangel came out and took Gordon down and a penalty kick was awarded.
Kane stood at the spot before sending a right-footed rocket into the left corner of the net to give England a 3-1 advantage. Kane is one goal off the lead in the Golden Boot competition.
A short time later, Kane was called for a high kick, and Mexico were awarded a penalty kick. Jimenez took it in the 69th minute and slowly approached before kicking a left-footer into the left side of the net for his third goal of the tournament.
England were passive for most of the first half before Bellingham scored twice in 98 seconds.
Bukayo Saka set up the first one in the 36th minute with some nice maneuvering in the attacking area. He sent a cross to Bellingham, who met the ball with a stellar diving header that went into the left side of the net to give England the lead.
Then Mexico were sloppy in the midfield, and England came up with a theft and moved downfield. Kane had the ball and sent it over to Bellingham, who knocked in a right-footer to give England a 2-0 lead in the 38th minute on his fourth goal of the World Cup.
Mexico answered in the 42nd minute off a free kick. Roberto Alvarado sent a left-footed boot toward the box and the ball caromed off the leg of England’s Ezri Konsa. It went directly to Quinones, who sent a right-footed shot into the upper portion of the net for his fourth goal.
Earlier, Mexico had a big chance in the 15th minute but Jimenez’s close-range header was stopped by the left hand of Pickford.
Published – July 06, 2026 09:21 am IST
