Bellingham stars as England overcome Mexico in Azteca thriller
England's Jude Bellingham described his side's dramatic 3-2 victory over co-hosts Mexico in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 as the best night of his England career, according to The Athletic. The win at the Azteca Stadium booked England's place in the quarterfinals against Norway.
Bellingham scored twice in the first half and was named Player of the Match. Reflecting on the result, he said: 'It's probably one of the biggest England wins in a while, probably the biggest one I can remember as a fan or player. The best night of my England career, our England career, probably. Just unbelievable. I can't put it into words right now.'
Record-breaking performance for Bellingham
According to FIFA, Bellingham, aged 23 years and six days, became the youngest player to reach 10 FIFA World Cup appearances, eclipsing the previous record set by Argentina's Mario Kempes, who was 23 years and 334 days when he faced Poland in 1978.
Bellingham acknowledged the chaotic nature of the contest: 'It's tough to gather everything together, the goals, the penalty against, the penalty for, the red card. It was a chaotic game but credit to Mexico, they were a different class. We never underestimated them for one minute and they were exactly as good as we thought they would be. But this team showed character tonight, and I'm proud.'
England's resilience with 10 men
Thomas Tuchel's side completed the victory despite playing nearly the entire second half with 10 men after Jarell Quansah was sent off in the 54th minute for a challenge on Jesus Gallardo following a VAR review. Spurred on by a passionate home crowd, Mexico launched a determined comeback but fell short in their bid to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1986.
Mexico enjoyed the better of the early possession before England struck twice in rapid succession through Bellingham. The midfielder first nodded home Bukayo Saka's cross before finishing clinically from a Harry Kane assist after Mexico surrendered possession moments later.
The hosts pulled a goal back before the interval through Julian Quinones, while Jordan Pickford produced an outstanding save to deny Raul Jimenez an equaliser before halftime.
Second-half drama and penalty decisions
England's challenge became tougher early in the second half when Quansah received a straight red card. Soon after, Anthony Gordon was fouled inside the penalty area by Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel, and Kane calmly converted the resulting spot-kick to restore England's two-goal advantage.
Mexico were later awarded a penalty after a VAR review found Kane had fouled Brian Gutierrez inside the box. Jimenez converted from the spot to reduce the deficit to 3-2 and set up a tense finale.
Despite sustained late pressure from the hosts, England held firm to secure victory and a quarterfinal meeting with Norway in Miami on July 11.
