England survived a mighty scare to secure a 3-2 victory against Mexico to advance at the World Cup 2026 thanks to Jude Bellingham’s quick-fire double and Harry Kane’s penalty in a classic tie at the Azteca Stadium.
A gritty rearguard performance late on, after Jarell Quansah’s red card left Thomas Tuchel’s side with 10 men, was enough to advance to the quarter-finals against Erling Haaland’s Norway and eliminate the co-hosts, with Bellingham netting twice in three minutes in the first half and Kane adding a second-half penalty.
Jordan Henderson suffered a freak injury during the celebrations, as he fell over the advertising hoardings and may have ended his World Cup, while attention will turn to a last-eight tie against the Norwegians on Saturday, where sweltering temperatures are set to cause issues for the Three Lions. With the Floridian humidity, temperatures for the game are set to feel like 44C.
Follow all the latest reaction from Mexico v England below:
Jordan Henderson suffers freak injury after falling over advertising hoardings celebrating England’s win over Mexico
England led 2-0 in the first half thanks to a double by Jude Bellingham, but Jarell Quansah was sent off in a wild second half as a 10-man rearguard action clung on through an onslaught from the Mexicans.
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After masterminding a great win, where does Thomas Tuchel rank amongst England managers?
Norway boss tears into Fifa over ‘big mistake’ to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card at World Cup
Balogun was sent off in the USA’s 2-0 World Cup win over Bosnia and Herzegovina for a challenge on Tarik Muharemovic.
Jude Bellingham and Jordan Pickford shine in dramatic World Cup win over Mexico
England pulled off a desperate and dramatic victory over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca to knock out the co-hosts and reach the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup.
Jude Bellingham scored twice in a first-half blitz as England took control of the game, but Julian Quinones responded with a goal at a set-piece before half-time.
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Now we get to the nitty gritty question. Can England actually win the World Cup?
Seven chaotic moments that defined England’s heroic World Cup win over Mexico
Kane loses voice and Henderson injures himself in celebrations
The drama didn’t end there, with plenty of points of interest coming after the full-time whistle. Kane caused much hilarity by roaring himself hoarse during the celebrations and trying to give a post-match interview, when he had lost his voice.
In less light-hearted news however, Jordan Henderson suffered a freak injury when he fell over the advertising hoardings during the celebrations. He appeared to injure his arm and Tuchel admitted afterwards it didn’t look good. The veteran midfielder stayed in Mexico City with a member of the medical team while the rest of the squad returned to Kansas City and there are fears that his World Cup is over.
Seven chaotic moments that defined England’s heroic World Cup win over Mexico
Mexico score spot-kick of their own and throw the kitchen sink at England
Job done for England at that point? Not a bit of it… On 69 minutes, the VAR sent Faghani to the monitor for a penalty review and Kane was adjudged to have caught Brian Guiterrez while clearing the ball, in a ticky-tacky call. Pickford went the right way but Jimenez’s spot-kick was just beyond him.
That left England with 20 minutes, plus a further 11 minutes of injury time, to hold on to the lead and Tuchel told his troops to batten down the hatches with Dan Burn and Djed Spence sent on to bolster the defensive effort. An increasingly desperate Mexico threw the kitchen sink at their opponents but Pickford commanded his area brilliantly, defenders put their bodies on the line and England clung on to book a quarter-final spot.
Seven chaotic moments that defined England’s heroic World Cup win over Mexico
Kane converts penalty to restore two-goal lead
The 10 men could have wilted in the Azteca intensity but instead they responded well to having a man disadvantage, with John Stones coming on for Saka to bolster the backline. And just six minutes after the red card, England were two goals to the good once more.
The impressive Anthony Gordon burst into the box, flicked the ball past Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel and was brought down by the stopper, with Faghani pointing to the spot. Kane took a deep breath, steadied himself and fired the penalty into the corner for a 3-1 lead.
More from Trump:
“If they wouldn’t allow a top player, maybe among the best players on the team, to play, I think it would have had a big stain and I related just that feeling. I didn’t tell them what to do. I can’t tell them what to do.
“I don’t believe he [Infantino] made the decision, I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision because number one it wasn’t a foul, and you want to see a game with your best players.
“How would you feel if you took [Lionel] Messi, or [Cristiano] Ronaldo or Harry Kane out? You can’t do that. We gotta have our best players and Belgium’s got a great team by the way.
“We gotta have our best and they gotta have their best. And if we win or we lose, it’s fair.”
Donald Trump admits speaking to Fifa over Balogun red card
The US president explained: “All I did was I asked for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul. Again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul.
“I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that would be different.”
