England hands Mexico its first
World Cup loss at Estadio Azteca, winning 3-2 to reach quarterfinals
[July 06, 2026]
By CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane carried England to
the World Cup quarterfinals, overcoming a raucous crowd, the
elevation of Estadio Azteca and a man disadvantage in the second
half to beat Mexico in a 3-2 thriller on Sunday night.
In the same stadium where England fell victim to Diego Maradona’s
Hand of God goal in the 1986 World Cup against Argentina, it was the
foot of Kane that gave the nation redemption 40 years later.
“I am just proud of the mentality and the attitude ... round of 16
it is a moment in tournaments when you find a way to win and we did
it with pure mentality and heart,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said.
“We overcame every obstacle that was thrown our way.”
Bellingham scored two goals 98 seconds apart in the first half. And
six minutes after Jarell Quansah was sent off, Kane converted a
penalty to restore England's two-goal lead.
England moves on to face Norway on Saturday in Miami Gardens,
Florida, for a spot in the semifinals.
“It was a crazy game. We had to fight,” Kane said, his voice hoarse.
“I can't really talk, but the occasion, the team, everything against
us, we found a way.”
Bellingham stunned the crowd of 80,824 at a venue where Mexico was
unbeaten in 10 World Cup matches, including three this tournament,
when he scored on a header in the 36th minute and again in the 38th
on a pass from Kane.
“We’ve done something incredible tonight, no doubt about it, and
we’ll enjoy it. And we’ll sing songs until we lose our voices on the
plane and whatnot, but we’ll have a couple of days recovering, then
it’s straight back to business in terms of facing Norway,”
Bellingham said.
Julián Quiñones scored for El Tri in the 42nd minute, and the game
appeared to turn in Mexico’s favor when Quansah was shown a red card
in the 54th for a dangerous foul on Jesús Gallardo.
But England was awarded a penalty for a challenge by Mexico
goalkeeper Raúl Rangel, and Kane converted for his sixth goal of
this tournament and 14th of his World Cup career, matching Gerd
Müller of West Germany for fifth on the scoring list. Kane sits one
behind Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland in the Golden
Boot race.
Kane then committed a foul that made him the first player since at
least 1966 to score and concede a penalty in a World Cup game. Raúl
Jiménez converted the kick with a stutter-step approach to move El
Tri within 3-2.
“Forty, 50 minutes with 10 men — even on sea level it’s almost
impossible to overcome but we did it. We did it in altitude,” Tuchel
said. “They’re almost too exhausted to celebrate. It’s just
beautiful that players on that kind of level just give everything
for the win and for the country and for that shirt.”
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Mexico's Cesar Montes, left, and England's Jude Bellingham (10)
battle for the ball in front of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford
(1) during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Mexico and
England in Mexico City, Sunday, July 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo
Mazalan )
Mexico attacked relentlessly over the final 21
minutes, plus 11 minutes of stoppage time, but goalkeeper Jordan
Pickford and England's defenders held steady.
“This is probably one of the biggest England wins in a while,
probably the biggest one I can remember as a fan or player,”
Bellingham said. “The best night of my England career.”
Midfielder Jordan Henderson was taken to a hospital after the match
with a wrist injury, Tuchel said. He was hurt when he tumbled over
an advertising board during the postgame celebration.
“I have mixed feelings; I am sad because Jordan injured his wrist
and it is quite serious. It just does not fit with the evening that
Jordan is not with us,” Tuchel added. “I do not know the procedure;
the doctor told me that he is in the hospital.”
Mexico has not reached the World Cup quarterfinals since hosting in
1986. Since then, it has lost in the round of 16 eight times, failed
to advance past the group stage in 2022 and was disqualified from
the 1990 tournament.
“Dreaming and falling like this hurts a lot, but the players should
leave with their heads held high,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said.
“They left everything on the pitch, but today it just wasn’t meant
to be. The fans had high hopes, and we couldn’t get the job done and
give them another night of joy.”
It was Mexico’s third competitive loss at Azteca, which opened in
1966, after a pair of 2-1 defeats in World Cup qualifiers, to Costa
Rica in 2001 and to Honduras in 2013.
The stadium sits 7,300 feet (2,200 meters) above sea level and
England's travel schedule gave it no opportunity to get used to the
altitude. Mexico's passionate fans blasted horns outside the England
hotel to disrupt players' sleep, and the start of the match was
delayed an hour because of a thunderstorm.
No matter. England is on to the quarterfinals as it seeks its first
title since 1966, and its outnumbered fans continued to serenade the
victorious Three Lions with Oasis' “Wonderwall.”
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