Jude Bellingham scored twice in the space of 98 seconds, while Harry Kane converted a second-half penalty as England overcame co-hosts Mexico 3-2 in a thrilling, incident-packed Round of 16 clash to book their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinals.
England will now face Norway in Miami on July 11 after surviving more than 40 minutes with 10 men following Jarell Quansah’s red card early in the second half.
The victory sends England into the last eight for the third consecutive World Cup, matching the feat they achieved between 1962 and 1970, when they reached the quarterfinals in 1962, lifted the trophy in 1966 and again made the last eight in 1970.
It was only the second World Cup meeting between England and Mexico, with the Three Lions maintaining their perfect record after also winning 2-0 in the group stage of the 1966 tournament on their way to the title.
The result also ended Mexico’s unbeaten FIFA World Cup record at the Mexico City Stadium. England, meanwhile, were playing at the iconic venue for the first time in 40 years, having last featured there in a 2-1 quarterfinal defeat to Argentina at the 1986 World Cup.
The knockout clash, delayed by an hour due to adverse weather, lived up to expectations from the opening whistle. Mexico controlled possession early on, but England struck decisively through Bellingham.
Bukayo Saka delivered a pinpoint cross for the midfielder to head home the opener before England doubled their lead almost immediately. Mexico lost possession straight from the restart, Harry Kane picked out Bellingham, and the Real Madrid star calmly slotted home to make it 2-0 after just 98 seconds between the two goals.
Mexico responded quickly through Julián Quiñones, whose powerful finish beat Jordan Pickford from close range to reduce the deficit. The co-hosts continued to threaten and were denied an equaliser only by an outstanding save from Pickford to keep out Raúl Jiménez before halftime.
England nearly restored their two-goal cushion after the break when Nico O’Reilly struck the post, but the game took another dramatic turn when Quansah was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Jesús Gallardo, leaving England to play the remainder of the contest with 10 men.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, England extended their lead moments later. Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel brought down Anthony Gordon inside the penalty area, and Kane confidently dispatched the resulting spot-kick for his sixth goal of the tournament.
The drama continued at the other end when Kane fouled Brian Gutiérrez inside the box. Following a VAR review, Mexico were awarded a penalty, and Jiménez converted to make it 3-2 and set up a tense finale.
Mexico threw everything forward in search of a dramatic equaliser that would have forced extra time, but England defended resolutely to seal a memorable victory and book a quarterfinal showdown with Norway.