10-man England beat Mexico and book World Cup quarter-final with Norway

England 3-2 Mexico England produced their finest performance of the FIFA World Cup so far, overcoming a hostile Azteca Stadium, a second-half red card and relentless Mexican pressure to claim a thrilling 3-2 victory and book their place in the quarter-finals. Thomas Tuchel's side held firm despite playing the final 40 minutes with 10 men after Jarell Quansah's dismissal, setting up a mouth-watering last-eight clash with Erling Haaland's Norway. The victory was all the more impressive given Mexico's formidable home record. The co-hosts had lost just two of their previous 89 competitive matches at the iconic Azteca Stadium, where more than 80,000 passionate supporters created a deafening atmosphere after kick-off was delayed by an hour because of severe thunderstorms. While Mexico dominated the noise from the stands, it was England who delivered the decisive moments before half-time through the brilliance of Jude Bellingham. After withstanding early pressure, the Three Lions struck twice in the space of just 98 seconds. Bellingham opened the scoring with a composed finish before adding a second moments later, capping a breathtaking spell that stunned the home crowd and gave England firm control of the contest. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford also played a crucial role in preserving the lead. The Everton shot-stopper produced two outstanding saves to deny Raúl Jiménez, first diving low to his left to keep out a powerful header before springing acrobatically to his right to tip away another goal-bound effort. Mexico eventually found a way back into the match three minutes before the interval when Julián Quiñones fired an unstoppable finish beyond Pickford after sustained pressure from the hosts. The momentum appeared to swing decisively in Mexico's favour early in the second half when England defender Jarell Quansah was shown a straight red card for a high challenge on Jesús Gallardo, leaving Tuchel's side to play with 10 men. Roared on by a raucous Azteca crowd sensing a comeback, Mexico poured forward in waves. Instead, England delivered another decisive blow. Anthony Gordon was brought down inside the penalty area by goalkeeper Raúl Rangel, and Harry Kane calmly converted from the spot to restore England's two-goal cushion. The drama was far from over. Just minutes later, Kane went from hero to culprit when he caught Brian Gutiérrez inside the penalty area, gifting Mexico a penalty of their own. Jiménez made no mistake from 12 yards to reduce the deficit to 3-2 and ignite the home supporters once more. The closing stages became a test of England's resilience. Tuchel responded by introducing Dan Burn and Djed Spence, switching to a five-man defence as Mexico launched wave after wave of attacks during 11 nerve-shredding minutes of stoppage time. England defended with extraordinary determination, throwing bodies in front of shots and winning crucial aerial duels to preserve their lead. At the heart of the resistance was Pickford, who produced arguably the finest performance of his international career. Making his 17th World Cup appearance to equal Peter Shilton's England record, the goalkeeper commanded his penalty area superbly and repeatedly denied Mexico with a series of outstanding interventions under immense pressure. Bellingham was equally influential. In addition to his first-half brace, the Real Madrid midfielder made a sensational last-ditch tackle to deny César Montes what looked a certain equaliser on the stroke of half-time, epitomising England's commitment at both ends of the pitch. England now head into the quarter-finals full of confidence after passing their toughest test of the tournament, but an even sterner challenge awaits against Norway and the prolific Erling Haaland, whose side has emerged as one of the World Cup's surprise contenders.

World Cup 2026

10-man England beat Mexico and book World Cup quarter-final with Norway