England beat Mexico 3-2 with ten men at the Azteca in a World Cup classic, Bellingham double and Kan

[Kane]

What a night in Mexico City. England have knocked the co hosts out in their own fortress, winning 3-2 with ten men after Jarell Quansah was sent off, ending Mexico's unbeaten World Cup run at the Estadio Azteca that stretched back to 2013. On altitude, in front of a hostile sell out crowd, this is about as good as tournament wins get for England

Jude Bellingham was the story of the first half, breaking the deadlock in the 37th minute by meeting a Saka cross, then doubling it moments later after Kane turned provider, two goals in a blistering spell that stunned the home crowd. Pickford had already kept England level with a stunning low save from a Raul Jimenez header before the goals came, so it was not one way traffic

Mexico refused to fold, Julian Quinones hammering one back before half time to make it 2-1 and reignite the Azteca, and then came the moment that should have changed everything, Quansah shown a straight red to reduce England to ten men with more than half the match to play. The Mexican players celebrated the dismissal like a goal, sensing the comeback was on

Instead England did the opposite of what a decade of history said they would. Down a man, they got a penalty when Rangel took out Gordon, and up stepped captain Harry Kane to convert it coolly for 3-1 and his sixth of the tournament, keeping his Golden Boot bid alive. Mexico pulled one back again to set up a frantic finish with eleven minutes of added time, but England held on through the storm

So the questions after a great win. Is this the performance that changes the mood around this England side given how functional they had looked before, does winning ugly and undermanned at a place like the Azteca prove they have the character people said they lacked, and with Norway and Haaland waiting in the quarterfinal, are you now actually believing?

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[WWEPete45]

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England's 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca was a high-intensity World Cup knockout classic defined by drama, resilience, and a big response to adversity.

The key turning point was Jarell Quansah's red card, which left England with ten men for a long stretch. Instead of collapsing, they reorganised quickly and became dangerous on the counter-attack, showing strong discipline and game management under pressure in a hostile stadium.

Jude Bellingham was the standout performer, scoring twice and constantly driving England forward when Mexico were pushing hard. His ability to carry the team in key moments was decisive.

Harry Kane also played an important supporting role, linking play and giving England an outlet when they needed to relieve pressure and build attacks more calmly.

Mexico had strong spells, especially with the home crowd behind them, and they created chances throughout. But England were more clinical in key moments and held their structure better after going down to ten men.

Overall, the positives for England were resilience under pressure, decisive finishing from Bellingham, effective counter-attacking after the red card, and strong leadership in difficult conditions.
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[codeberg]

If the other wouldn't work for you depending on rights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhji3BJ0TTE

still exhausted from the game. but not had to get up early like the English footie fans

[Wendy5]

Winning 3-2 with ten men at the Azteca, a ground Mexico had not lost at since 2013, is comfortably the best England knockout performance in years, character was the one thing everyone said they lacked and they just showed a stadium full of it

[EventHorizon]

Bellingham two in a spell then Kane ice cold from the spot down a man, that is a proper spine standing up on the biggest night, this is the version of England we kept being promised

[Harry64]

The Quansah red could have ended them and instead it lit them up, going down to ten and scoring the third is the opposite of every tired England knockout story we have suffered through

[Jedi Stuart]

Do not get carried away, they rode their luck and Pickford was enormous, that Jimenez save early is the reason this is a win and not another heartbreak, brilliant but not flawless

[Priya_39]

Pickford is so underrated in these games, third major tournament running he produces a save that changes a knockout tie, the man lives for this stage

[Luke_67]

Feel for Mexico, they threw everything at it and losing that unbeaten Azteca record on a night they had a man advantage for half the game will haunt them, brutal way to go out

[Shane88]

Kane keeping the Golden Boot race alive with the penalty matters too, six now, and with Haaland on seven after today that quarterfinal is a striker duel as much as a team one

[BigDog26]

The altitude and the crowd were supposed to break England and instead the ten men grew into it, that is a mentality shift you cannot fake, credit to Tuchel for whatever he has built here

[Policy Wizard]

England vs Norway in the quarters is mouthwatering now, two in form sides, Kane against Haaland, and England finally look like they have a pulse, I am daring to believe against my better judgement

[Anchor34]

A World Cup classic is not an exaggeration for once, five goals, a red card, a penalty, eleven minutes of added time at the Azteca, that had absolutely everything and England came out the right side

[IronWolf]

As a neutral that was the best game of the tournament so far and England winning it a man down makes it the story of the round, whatever happens next they earned this one

[Will81]

That has to go down as one of England's greatest World Cup wins. Playing at the Azteca is hard enough, doing it with ten men for so long is something else.

Bellingham just kept dragging the team forward every time Mexico looked like getting on top. Two huge goals on a stage like that says everything about the player he's becoming.

Feel for Mexico because they gave it everything, but England showed a level of resilience we've not always seen in tournaments.

[DarkMatter92]

Still can't decide whether Quansah's red was deserved. Seen them given, seen them waved away. It changed the entire match and somehow England looked more dangerous afterwards.

Maybe having to sit deeper actually suited them because the counter attacks were brilliant.

Not sure my heart can cope with many more matches like that though.

[Danny_21]

Mexico going out at home is brutal. The atmosphere before kickoff was incredible and for a while it looked like they were going to roar their team over the line.

Credit where it's's due though, England didn't panic. Every player seemed to know exactly what job they had after the sending off.

That'll sting in Mexico for a long time.

[Terry_33]

People will talk about Bellingham, and rightly so, but Kane's influence shouldn't get overlooked either.

His movement and hold up play gave England somewhere to breathe whenever they were under pressure. That's the sort of performance experienced forwards produce when everything around them is chaotic.

Not flashy all the time, just massively important.

[QubitZero68]

One of those games where neutrals must have loved every minute.

End to end, goals, a red card, the crowd making an unbelievable noise. That's what the World Cup should look like.

Wouldn't mind watching that one back a few times.

[Router53]

Funny how before the tournament loads of people were saying England lacked character.

Going down to ten men in one of the toughest stadiums in world football and still finding a way to win doesn't exactly scream fragile.

There's still plenty to improve, but confidence has to be sky high after that.

[Hollow85]

Can't help wondering what happens if Mexico score first after the red card. Momentum is a funny thing and the crowd would probably have carried them.

Instead England landed the next punch and suddenly all the pressure shifted.

Football margins are ridiculously small sometimes.

[Dylan99]

The fitness levels were ridiculous. Everyone looked absolutely spent by the final whistle.

Those last few minutes felt like they lasted half an hour with Mexico throwing everything forward.

Fair play to the defenders because they threw themselves at every cross.

[ParallelSelf99]

Some people are already calling this England's best ever World Cup performance. That's getting a bit carried away for me.

It was an incredible result, no doubt about it, but there are hopefully bigger wins still to come.

Let's enjoy it without declaring the trophy won just yet.

[NeonSpectre]

Bellingham keeps producing these big moments and it almost feels normal now.

The scary part is he's still got years ahead of him. If this is his level already, defenders are going to hate playing against him for the next decade.

What a player.

[Fan22]

The referee was definitely the busiest man on the pitch. Every challenge had both sets of players surrounding him.

Thought he handled most of it reasonably well even if both fans will probably disagree.

Matches with that much emotion are never easy to officiate.

[Chris_50]

Part of me was laughing every time the commentators said England needed to slow the game down.

Thirty seconds later they'd break at full speed again.

Guess that's easier said than done when adrenaline takes over.

[Kane]

England v Norway is only hours away. Haaland is the one to stop.

[MiguelCardozo]

England's bench deserves a mention too.

The players coming on looked switched on straight away and helped see the game out. Tournament football is won by squads, not just the starting eleven.

That depth could make a massive difference later on.

[TheRizz96]

Not convinced Mexico defended the winning goal very well.

They committed so many bodies forward that once England escaped the press there was loads of space to attack.

Easy to say afterwards of course, but game management let them down a little.

[SerialScroller]

Matches like this are why people fall in love with football.

No script, constant twists, everyone convinced something else was about to happen right until the whistle.

More of that please.

[JayJ]

Bit random, but the camera shots of the crowd were brilliant all game.

The noise coming through the television was incredible. Must have been unbelievable for anyone lucky enough to be there.

That's an atmosphere players never forget.

[Brooke_19]

Seeing England dig in instead of falling apart was probably the biggest positive for me.

Previous teams might have folded after the sending off, but this group seems mentally tougher.

Still expecting another rollercoaster before this tournament is over though.

[PhotonBurst16]

Wonder how much energy that game has taken out of both sides.

England got through it, but playing so long with ten men has to leave tired legs. Recovery over the next few days will be massive.

Worth every drop of effort if it leads to another win.

[Hollow Ronan]

Best part was seeing supporters already calling it a World Cup classic before the players had even left the pitch.

Hard to argue really. It had drama from start to finish and plenty for everyone to debate for years.

Now the challenge is backing it up in the next round rather than living off one famous night.

[Hollow85]

Who else completely ignored the sensible option of going to bed for an hour? Once the kickoff got pushed back another hour there was no chance. At that point it was either commit to it or give up.

Worth every minute though.

[NightHarbour]

That one hour delay was absolutely brutal.

There were probably thousands of people sitting there thinking, "I've already stayed up this long, I can't quit now." Then suddenly the alarm is only a couple of hours away.

[BankHolidayBlues]

Roll call time. Who actually rang in sick this morning?

No judgement from me after a match like that. Some things are worth being a zombie for the next day.

[Ellie22]

Setting an alarm for the middle of the night is bad enough. Watching the countdown, only to be told there's another hour to wait, was torture.

Still, nobody can complain the game wasn't worth hanging around for.

[Molly_62]

Can't be the only one who thought, "I'll just have a quick nap during the delay."

Next thing you know the match has started and you've slept through half of it.

[Stu87]

Work today must have been full of people pretending they felt fine.

Meanwhile everyone's secretly living off coffee and replaying Bellingham's goals in their head instead of concentrating.

[Luke_67]

This match will go down in history
I wish I witnessed Mexico at the Azteca arena

[SilverSurfer51]

The people who decided not to bother setting an alarm because they'd just stay awake deserve some credit.

That extra hour must have felt like an eternity though. By kickoff the snacks were gone and the eyelids were getting heavy.

[Router48]

Imagine explaining to your boss that England beating Mexico with ten men is why you're half asleep.

Some would understand. Others... probably not.

[Molly4]

Bet there were loads of people saying, "I'll watch until kickoff then decide."

The delay completely ruined that plan. Once you'd invested the extra hour there was no backing out.

[BradBytheway]

Coffee sales must have gone through the roof this morning.

A delayed kickoff followed by a World Cup classic isn't exactly the recipe for a productive day at work.

[ElPresidente]

Respect to everyone who got up for work after watching the whole thing.

Even more respect if you managed to look awake during the morning meeting.

[MondayMoan31]

There are two types of people today.

The ones who called in sick, and the ones who spent the entire day refreshing the highlights because they couldn't stop thinking about the match.

[BlackMamba35]

The delay somehow made the win even sweeter.

After sitting around for another hour wondering if it was even going to get going, England served up one of the best matches in years. Worth the lost sleep in the end.

[Shane95]

Anyone who says they were in bed by full time is either retired or has superhuman discipline.

Most of us were still buzzing long after the final whistle and there wasn't much point trying to sleep straight away.

[Depot16]

Pretty sure half the country was looking at the clock after the delay thinking, "This is going to hurt tomorrow."

Then Bellingham goes and produces that performance and suddenly nobody cared.