MEXICO CITY : If England go on to win the World Cup, they may look back on their last-16 victory at the Azteca Stadium as the moment they proved they had the resilience to do it.
Inspired by two goals from Jude Bellingham and a Harry Kane penalty, England survived a relentless second-half onslaught to beat co-hosts Mexico 3-2 on Sunday and book a quarter-final against Norway.
The victory ended Mexico’s perfect World Cup record at the Azteca, where they had won all four previous tournament matches without conceding a goal, and made England the first team to inflict a World Cup defeat on the hosts at the iconic stadium.
Reduced to 10 men late in the match, England withstood sustained pressure as Mexico poured forward in search of an equaliser.
Bellingham, who had already scored twice, also produced a crucial goal-line clearance, while goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a string of vital saves to preserve England’s lead. Captain Kane kept his composure from the penalty spot, and Declan Rice completed the match despite playing much of it on a yellow card.
“I can’t put it into words right now … the goals, the penalty against, the penalty for, the red card,” Bellingham said. “It was a chaotic game.
“It felt like a full squad performance. It felt like we had 26 players. Every time we cleared the ball, when big Dan Burn smashed his head off one and cleared it up the pitch, you could see all the subs on the sideline up, all the staff, the fans got behind us in the stadium.”
Winning a knockout match against an unbeaten Mexico side was a formidable challenge. Doing so at an altitude of more than 2,200 metres, in front of a partisan crowd at one of football’s most intimidating venues, made it even more demanding.
Since opening in 1966, the Azteca had witnessed only two Mexican defeats in 89 senior competitive internationals. England survived 11 minutes of stoppage time to end that aura of invincibility.
“It was one step more,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said.
“It’s what I always tell you, this team … they really mean it. When the going gets tough, they never give up, they never lose belief.”
After the final whistle, England’s players celebrated with their supporters, who gathered behind the goal singing Oasis’s “Wonderwall” after a night that transformed the largely pro-Mexico atmosphere into a celebration of England’s progress.
England will face Norway in the quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday.
“Norway,” Tuchel said. “We need to take this in. This is Azteca, it’s Mexico. It’s a crazy, crazy game. We left everything out there, every single one of us. So they need to take this in and now it’s full steam ahead.”
