Ten-man England survive siege of the Azteca to reach quarter-finals in World Cup classic
England held on with ten men to withstand a late bombardment by Mexico in the Azteca and triumph 3-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup,
The game exploded in six mad first half minutes. First Jude Bellingham headed in the opener after a brilliant run by Bukayo Saka down the right on 36 minutes, then he exchanged passes with Harry Kane to add his second on 38 minutes.
At that point England looked to have one foot in the next round but Mexico pulled one back when Julian Quinones smashed in from a corner after Ezri Konsa had cleared the initially delivery. The co-hosts then laid siege to the England goal, with Jordan Pickford, who had already saved superbly low down from Raul Jimenez earlier in the game, having to be at his best to tip another header over, while Bellingham made a vital interception to hook the ball over the bar as Cesar Montes looked certain to equalise.
England started the second half on top with Nico O’Reilly fizzing a ball across the box before striking a post with a fine shot from the edge of the area but the game was turned on its head on 54 minutes.
Jarell Quansah sprinted across from right back to make a challenge on Jesus Gallardo but went over the ball with his challenge catching the Mexican high on his calf. Both benches emptied into confrontation before referee Alireza Faghani was sent to the screen by the VAR.
Interestingly the assistant VAR on the night was Juan Soto, who was the official who ordered the review that resulted in Folarin Balogun’s red card, which The Athletic revealed was controversially overturned on Saturday.
England extended their lead through a Harry Kane penalty after Anthony Gordon was taken down by goalkeeper Raul Rangel, but the VAR team were back in action soon after when Kane was judged to have kicked through Brian Gutierrez.
Jimenez rolled his penalty past Pickford for 3-2 and Tuchel responded by setting England up in a 5-3-1 formation and sitting deep. Mexico pressed on with Edson Alvarez heading wide, Jimenez shooting over and John Stones putting just past his own post.
Mexico put in 49 crosses in all but England stood firm.
They will now play Norway in Miami on July 11 after they defeated Brazil 2-0 at MetLife earlier in the day.
Here The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke, Jack Lang and Tim Spiers break down the key talking points.
Was this one of England’s greatest performances?
Thomas Tuchel wanted to control the chaos here, and put in a measured, careful, synchronised performance. He did not get that, but he did get an all-time great World Cup contest, an all-time England win and a place in the quarter-final against Norway in Miami on Saturday.
Books will be written about this game but in brief England had to withstand almost constant Mexican pressure, which lasted all the way until the final whistle went with the clock in the 103rd minute.
They showed some individual brilliance, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice in the first half and Harry Kane converting a penalty. At times they were ropey at the back, but they did heroically well to dig for most of the second half after Jarell Quansah’s red card. And the back five rearguard, with Dan Burn making an invaluable cameo, will go down in history.
There are so many questions facing this England team as they head to Miami, not least their recovery from tonight, the problem issue at right-back and their general lack of control. But this was a historic night, a monumental win and an occasion to savour.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
How did England hold out?
After Quansah’s red, Tuchel’s first reaction was to sent on an extra defender, calling for the experience of John Stones and sacrificing Saka in what was now a 4-3-2 formation, with Ezri Konsa at right-back and Anthony Gordon supporting Kane up front.
Gordon did a decent job of stretching the play, with England looking for him with long balls over the top.
Gordon looking to make those darting runs beyond the defence soon led to England’s third goal, with the new Barcelona man reacting to a ricochet off Kane from Pickford’s long goal kick before being taken down by goalkeeper Rangel. A clear penalty, which Kane duly despatched.
However, after Kane himself conceded a penalty, inevitably scored by Jimenez, Tuchel pressed the ultra defensive button for the closing stages.
On came big Dan Burn, all 6ft 7in of him, for his World Cup debut, plus Djed Spence at left-back in place of O’Reilly. Anderson was taken off for Burn, meaning England were now effectively played the rarely seen 5-4-0 formation (occasionally Kane ambled up front to make it a 5-3-1), with Bellingham and Gordon supporting the full-backs and Burn throwing his head at everything coming into the box.
That was a lot, because England repeatedly failed to get out and relieve pressure. They were however defending the box brilliantly and restricting Mexico to crosses and pot-shots, but the pressure in front of a baying, frenzied crowd, was almost unbearable.
It became less about tactics, more about fighting for their football lives in one of the most feral, intimidating and relentless environment imaginable.
Behind them, Pickford had one of the best nights of his entire career. Having made two truly top level saves from Jimenez in the first half, Pickford was a colossus amid the aerial bombardment, repelling crosses with punches and catches and not putting a foot (or a hand) wrong all night.
There were many heroes for England, Bellingham chief among them, but Pickford wasn’t far behind
Tim Spiers
Why was Quansah sent off?
Right back has been an issue for England all summer. Reece James, Jarrell Quansah, Djed Spence and Declan Rice have all played there. Here, after a frayed, fraught period of play, Bukaya Saka was occupying the position for a few minutes.
He was there because Quansah had been sent off. The Bayer Leverkusen defender chased after Mexico left-back Jesus Gallardo and seemed to well placed to win the ball with a sliding challenge. His right leg, however, went over the top, catching Gallardo on the shin.
Quansah’s challenge that led to a red card (Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
The challenge incensed the Mexico bench, which in turn set the England bench off. In a heartbeat, the substitutes and backroom staff from both sides were pushing and shoving. It died down fairly quickly but England did not escape: VAR Juan Soto Arevalo — the man who sent the referee in the USA-Bosnia Herzegovina game — spotted Quansah’s infraction and sent Alireza Faghani to review it.
It looked the right call. Quansah walked and Saka slotted in until England could bring John Stones on. At which point Ezri Konsa became this team’s sixth right back of the World Cup, a little curio on a madcap night.
Jack Lang
How will Mexico’s campaign be remembered?
This summer has been a journey for Mexico. There was not huge belief in this team before the World Cup started. Javier Aguirre, in his third term as manager, was not universally loved. They have, however, cultivated something special over the course of the last four weeks. Players have talked about being a family. The public have backed them to the hilt.
All of that was in evidence here. Those two Bellingham goals would have put a lesser side on the canvas. Mexico took the punches, recalibrated, went again. After Quinones made it 2-1, the noise in this stadium was louder than it had been at any point. The belief and the pride were palpable. And then, after Kane’s penalty, they did it all over again.
No one will forget this night, this summer, this team. It is not an exaggeration to say that these players and Aguirre got Mexicans dreaming, made them think that their place in the global football ecosystem is subject to negotiation. Against Ecuador, El Tri ended their knockout curse. Here, they showed that they should fear no team.
Mexico’s World Cup ended here. But the feelings and the confidence will live on well into the future.
Jack Lang
Did the officials get the decisions right?
A third quarter of utter chaos, with three incidents, yellow and red cards and two penalties. Even the most ardent England fans will have accepted Quansah’s dismissal early in the second half.
He entered the tackle at full pelt, lost control and made significant contact high up the shin of his Mexican opponent. Any minor contact with the ball was incidental given the excessive force involved.
Unlike U.S striker Balogun, he has no chance of avoiding suspension. The penalty awarded to England a few minutes later was equally clear cut. Referee Alireza Faghani did not need a VAR review to spot the foul on Gordon by the Mexican keeper.
The challenge was different to that in England’s previous match against DR Congo, when captain Kane initiated the contact and made rather too much of his fall. Gordon was simply taken out.
The penalty awarded to Mexico when Kane tried to clear a bouncing ball was more contentious, but is technically correct. Based on a forensic set of replays, he only made contact with his opponent as both tried to play the ball simultaneously.
Kane kicks through the back of Gutierrez (Paul Childs/Reuters)
Historically, these were written off as normal contact. With VAR and the opportunity to review incidents frame-by-frame, penalties are usually the result.
Refereeing expert Graham Scott
How good was England’s first goal?
The first 36 minutes had undoubtedly been edged by Mexico. England, indebted to Jordan Pickford for making an outstanding low save from Raul Jimenez early on, were floundering a little, especially in midfield.
There was a lack of composure at times, but gradually they got a foothold and pleaded patience, knowing chances would come their way once the Mexico pressure ceased.
On 35 minutes that patience was rewarded… and it happened quickly.
Pickford scooped up a Mexico ball over the defence and rolled briskly out to Rice, who boldly embarked on a 60-yard drive, deep into the Mexico half, before laying off to Bukayo Saka.
Within seconds of Pickford ending a Mexico attack, Saka was one-on-one with Jesus Gallardo and skipped past him pretty easily, before clipping a teasing, come-and-get-me cross with his weaker right foot into the heart of the six-yard box.
It went just over Kane’s header, but Bellingham had timed his run to perfection and scored with a dominant diving header.
From a Mexico perspective, Jorge Sanchez and Roberto Alvarado both left Bellingham drift free of them, but the Real Madrid man’s run was exceptional and the finish clinical.
It was a moment that stunned the Azteca.
Tim Spiers
And what about their second?
The storms that delayed kick-off had subsided but lightning struck twice at the Azteca as relentless England and Bellingham took control of the tie in devastatingly clinical fashion.
It was another sprightly attack, this time starting higher up the field as a combination of Elliot Anderson and Anthony Gordon won possession from a dozing Gilberto Mora, who was robbed of possession shortly after the restart.
Bellingham hit it wide of the box to Kane, who unselfishly elected to return the favour rather than shoot from a narrow angle, identifying Bellingham was in the better shooting position and finding him with a perfect square pass. Bellingham did the rest, sliding it home from six yards.
He and Kane made it look easy, but in bypassing three challenges and the goalkeeper England sliced a shellshocked Mexico apart.
It was a one-two sucker punch that perfected reflected England under Tuchel; wide crosses, headers, runners beyond the defence and playing quickly on the break.
The double salvo also spectacularly ended Mexico’s record of not having conceded during the tournament.
What happened to Mexico? Complacency after England’s sedate start? The hosts had been winning the midfield battle, but hadn’t had to deal with Bellingham or anyone from England’s midfield in an attacking sense.
Bellingham celebrated in trademark fashion, arms outstretched, posing up at the stands. In that moment, the Azteca was his.
Tim Spiers
Why was one chant a problem?
A few days before the start of this tournament, Mexico’s football federation launched a campaign that featured the heroes of the country’s 1986 World Cup side. They spoke evocatively about their memories of La Ola, the Mexican wave, which was a feature in stadiums throughout that tournament. The campaign encouraged fans this summer to bring the wave back — instead of participating in a rather more damaging routine.
The Mexican federation have been repeatedly fined over the last decade for homophobic chanting by fans at matches. They have tried to snuff it out but it has been an uphill struggle. In the opening game of the World Cup, the infamous chant was pleasingly absent from the Azteca. It was heard in Mexico’s game against the Czech Republic, however, and it reappeared here whenever Jordan Pickford kicked the ball forward.
The referee has the discretion to pause and even suspend matches when this chanting happens. That has yet to happen at this World Cup, despite the presence of observers from the FARE network at every stadium this summer.
Jack Lang