Bellingham double sends ten-man England past Mexico into the World Cup quarter-finals
Jude Bellingham’s first-half double set it up, then England held on with ten men at a raucous Azteca to knock out the co-hosts and reach the last eight.
Jul 6, 2026
England are through to the World Cup quarter-finals, and they got there the hard way. Jude Bellingham struck twice inside three first-half minutes at the Estadio Azteca, then Thomas Tuchel’s side spent more than half an hour a man light after Jarell Quansah was sent off, holding on for a 3-2 win over co-hosts Mexico that hands the tournament one of its loudest nights so far.
Bellingham turns the tie in three minutes
For half an hour the Azteca roared and England barely settled. Then Bellingham decided the half on his own. He rose to meet a Bukayo Saka cross in the 36th minute and headed England in front, and two minutes later he was on the end of a Harry Kane delivery to tap home the second. A stadium built to intimidate had gone quiet, and England looked comfortable in a way few expected against a Mexico side that had won all of its matches on home soil to this point.
The comfort did not last. Julián Quiñones volleyed Mexico back into it before the break, lashing home from a free-kick routine in the 42nd minute, and the interval arrived with the tie wide open again at 2-1.
Down to ten, England dig in
The game turned on the hour, though not the way Mexico wanted. Quansah caught Jesús Gallardo with his studs on a sliding challenge in the 54th minute and, after a VAR review, was shown a straight red card. That left England to defend a one-goal lead for more than 40 minutes with a stadium against them. Kane eased some of the pressure from the penalty spot in the 60th minute after Anthony Gordon was fouled, restoring the two-goal cushion at 3-1.
Raúl Jiménez halved it again nine minutes later, sending Jordan Pickford the wrong way from the penalty spot to make it 3-2 and set up a frantic finish. Mexico threw everything forward across a long stretch of stoppage time, but Pickford held firm, the England back line refused to break, and the whistle eventually confirmed a result that felt like survival as much as victory.
Norway await in the last eight
The reward is a quarter-final against Norway, who knocked out Brazil to reach the last eight for the first time. Quansah’s dismissal means he is suspended for that tie, another selection headache for Tuchel on a night that also asked serious questions of England’s discipline. What it did not do was dent their run. For all the chaos, England are into the World Cup quarter-finals, and they got there by grinding out a win in the most hostile setting the tournament had to offer.
The kick-off itself was pushed back an hour by a thunderstorm that swept over Mexico City, a fitting curtain-raiser for a tie that never stopped threatening to swing. Mexico’s own run ends here. England are the first side to beat them in a World Cup match at the Azteca, ending a home record at the old stadium that had held unbeaten across ten games.