Ten-man England advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after holding off a fierce second-half fightback from tournament cohosts Mexico to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory at the Mexico City Stadium on Sunday night.
The victory at the Estadio Azteca sets up a quarterfinal encounter against Norway in Miami on July 11, while Mexico fell short of reaching their first final-eight appearance in 40 years.
England established dominance in the first half through a rapid brace from midfielder Jude Bellingham, who opened the scoring with a 36th-minute header from a Bukayo Saka cross. Just 98 seconds later, Bellingham slotted home a low finish from a Harry Kane pass to silence the home crowd. Mexico responded before the interval when Julián Quiñones fired a powerful, close-range strike past Jordan Pickford to reduce the deficit.
The match shifted dramatically in the 54th minute when England defender Jarell Quansah was shown a straight red card following a VAR review for a high challenge on Jesús Gallardo. Despite the numerical disadvantage, England earned a penalty five minutes later when Raúl Rangel fouled Anthony Gordon, allowing Harry Kane to convert from the spot to make it 3-1.
A second VAR review in the 67th minute resulted in a penalty for Mexico after Kane fouled Brian Gutiérrez. Raúl Jiménez successfully executed the spot-kick to narrow the gap to 3-2, initiating a tense final 20 minutes under heavy pressure from the hosts.
England manager Thomas Tuchel praised his team's resilience, stating that the players never lost belief when the circumstances became difficult.