Mexico 2 – 3 England

England are through to the World Cup quarter-finals after earning one of their greatest knockout results by eliminating co-hosts Mexico with a gutsy 3-2 victory in an extraordinary tie at the Azteca.

Thomas Tuchel’s side overcame Mexico’s significant home advantage at altitude, shrugged off a one-hour kick-off delay and survived the majority of the second half with 10 men after Jarell Quansah was sent off, before digging in heroically following Jude Bellingham’s double and Harry Kane’s penalty to set up a last-eight meeting with Norway.

Mexico hadn’t conceded a goal at the tournament until Bellingham struck twice in the space of 98 seconds during the first half to put England in dreamland, quieting the daunting Azteca, only for Julian Quinones to pull one back before half-time from a soft free-kick.

England survived a late onslaught in the opening period and steadied themselves after the break as Nico O’Reilly struck a post, but then Quansah, at right-back, recklessly slid in and was shown a straight red card in the 54th minute by referee Alireza Faghani following a VAR check.

Faghani was at the centre of a dramatic second half, awarding England a stonewall penalty minutes later when the excellent Anthony Gordon was brought down by the goalkeeper and Kane held his nerve to net his sixth goal of the tournament.

But Faghani was then involved again, pointing to the spot for a Mexico penalty, after being sent to the monitor by VAR, for Kane’s kick on Brian Gutierrez which allowed Jimenez to beat Jordan Pickford and set up a grandstand finish in the final 20 minutes.

Tuchel switched to a back five, throwing on Dan Burn and Djed Spence in an attempt to see out the tie and the defence did, blocking shots and heading clear seemingly endless crosses in an incredible finale of a World Cup classic.

The key moments from the Azteca

• 36: GOAL! Rice drives England forward on the counter before Saka crosses to Bellingham to head in the opener.
• 38: GOAL! Just 98 seconds later, England score from kick-off as Kane squares for Bellingham to bundle in.
• 43: GOAL! Mexico hit back as Quinones smashes in at a soft free-kick.
• 45+3: SAVE! Pickford flies high to his right to tip over Jimenez’s header as Mexico push for equaliser late in the half.
• 50: OFF THE WOODWORK! O’Reilly hits the right post with a shot from outside the box as England make fast start in second half.
• 55: RED CARD! Quansah is shown a straight red card for a reckless sliding challenge.
• 60: GOAL! Kane buries a penalty after Gordon is brought down by the goalkeeper.
• 69: GOAL! Jimenez pulls one back with penalty after Kane penalised by VAR for foul.
• 74: SUBS! Tuchel switches to a back five, bringing on Burn and Spence, to try and see out the win.
• 90+10: ALMOST AN OWN-GOAL! Stones puts the ball inches past his own post.
• 90+11: FULL TIME! England heroically hold on in 11 minutes of added time to earn famous victory.

A World Cup classic in pictures…

Tuchel: That is proper mentality

England head coach Thomas Tuchel said:

“Very proud. We needed everything. It was super difficult. In the moments we thought we had caught the momentum, we had setbacks. That is proper mentality.

“This team really mean it. When the going gets tough, they never give up, they never lose belief. It was one step more.

“We need to take this in. This is Azteca, it’s Mexico, a crazy game. We left everything out there, every single one of us. We need to take this in, now it’s full steam ahead.

Tuchel fumes at officials

“It’s just not good enough. Referees are just not good enough. Fourth officials are just not good enough.

“It’s the bottom line. Is this a clear and obvious mistake for the penalty? For sure not, but VAR gets involved.

“They overturn a situation where he doesn’t even give a foul. Not good enough.”

England’s greatest strength is refusing to lose

Sky Sports’ David Richardson:

How will England be beaten? That is what the remaining countries in this tournament will start to ask themselves.

Level with Croatia, behind to DR Congo, down to 10 men at the Azteca – Thomas Tuchel has built a mentality monster that is overcoming everything thrown at them.

“When the going gets tough, they never give up, they never lose belief,” he said after this memorable victory. This England team has guts.

When they had to dig in, when Dan Burn was called upon for his first minutes at a major tournament, when Jordan Pickford had to come and punch every cross, they could do it.

But it also has the world-class quality in Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to go punch-for-punch with anyone.

Tuchel admitted his side can play better, that there is a “disconnect” in their performances. This increasingly feels like a team that refuses to lose, and that is perhaps the most dangerous trait any World Cup contender can possess.

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