2026 World Cup: Bellingham the hero as England survive the Azteca nightmare and book a quarter-final with Norway
On Sunday night, in the furnace-like heat of the Azteca Stadium, England came through one of the most brutal games of this World Cup. The Three Lions beat Mexico 3-2 in a breathless, back-and-forth clash to seal their place in the quarter-finals. They will face Norway in Miami on 11 July. The atmosphere matched the occasion: Mexican olés greeted every touch, and deafening boos rang out whenever an English player got involved. For the first half-hour, that noise had Thomas Tuchel’s side frozen, anonymous and rattled, saved only by a superb Jordan Pickford stop from Raul Jimenez’s diving header in the 16th minute.
Then Jude Bellingham took over. Inside two minutes, the England midfielder steered in crosses from Bukayo Saka and the Bavarian to score twice and put his side 2-0 up against the run of play (36th, 38th). It was a stunning riposte to Mexico’s clear control. But Julian Quinones pulled one back with a brilliant volley from Alvarado’s free-kick just before the break (42nd), keeping the pressure on England, who were as hot and cold as ever.
The second half was every bit as frantic. Jarell Quansah’s deserved red card (54th), greeted like a goal by the Mexican crowd, made England’s task even harder. Then came two disputed penalties: Kane buried his (60th) for his sixth goal of the tournament, despite a possible offside in the build-up, before Jimenez levelled from the spot himself (66th) after a soft foul on the England captain. The closing stages were suffocating, with England pinned back in their own half as Mexico, driven on by a wild crowd and three forwards up top, pushed for a winner. They couldn’t find it, though Stone nearly turned one into his own net in the 90th+12th minute.
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Bellingham, Kane and Pickford rescue England in the Mexican cauldron
In those furnace-like conditions, three men made the difference for the Three Lions. Bellingham with his decisive brace against the run of play, Kane with his usual ice-cold touch from the spot to take his tournament tally to six, and Pickford with a string of vital saves to keep the red-hot Mexican attack at bay. England’s collective defensive work, down to 10 men for the last 20 minutes, was remarkable and underlined the character in this squad.
England have already shown they can suffer and still get through, having done the same against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 16, with Kane scoring twice in 11 minutes. They did it again at the Azteca under far more punishing conditions. Norway and their Isak-Gyokeres pairing await in Miami on 11 July. The Three Lions will have time to recover from this furious scrap and patch up the bruises, both physical and mental, before that quarter-final.
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