England twice had a two-goal cushion halved by Mexico, but despite finishing with 10 men, Thomas Tuchel’s side held out for a brilliant 3-2 win in this FIFA World Cup last-16 tie.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane were both on target as 10-man England held out for a superb 3-2 win over Mexico to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
With kick-off delayed by an hour due to thunderstorms over the Azteca, England eventually wrestled control through Bellingham’s first-half brace, though Julián Quiñones kept Mexico in the tie.
After Jarell Quansah‘s straight red card, Kane’s penalty restored the two-goal cushion before a Raúl Jiménez spot-kick put the pressure back on, but England held their nerve to book a meeting with Norway in the last eight.
Mexico dominated the early stages and could have taken a 15th-minute lead when Jiménez threw himself onto the end of Roberto Alvarado’s cross, but his diving header was brilliantly tipped wide by Jordan Pickford.
Bukayo Saka then set off on a pacy counter-attack down the right, and his dangerous cross was nodded in at the far post by Bellingham 36 minutes in.
Just 98 seconds later, Bellingham doubled their lead. England won the ball back in midfield, and the Real Madrid midfielder played a one-two with Kane, finishing off the move with a close-range tap-in.
England were caught out just four minutes later, though, as they failed to clear Alvarado’s free-kick, and Quiñones lashed an instinctive volley into the roof of the net.
Mexico finished the half on top, with Jiménez scuffing a half-volley wide before forcing another stretching save out of Pickford with a glancing header, while Bellingham made a stunning last-ditch clearance to deny César Montes an attempt from close range.
England started the second half on the front foot, with Nico O’Reilly’s low drive deflecting off Bellingham and against the foot of the right post.
But in the 54th minute, they went down to 10 men. Quansah slid in to win the ball, but went over it to catch Jesus Gallardo on the shin, and he was given his marching orders following a VAR review.
England restored their two-goal cushion on the hour; Anthony Gordon won a penalty after beating Raúl Rangel to Kane’s flick-on, and the England captain confidently converted from 12 yards.
But Kane was then penalised at the other end, as Brian Gutiérrez beat him to a bouncing ball. The spot-kick was given following a VAR review, and Jiménez fired past a wrong-footed Pickford in the 69th minute.
Mexico pushed for the equaliser that would have taken the tie to extra time, but while Jimenez scooped an effort over, England threw bodies on the line to protect their advantage and hold out for the win.
Three Lions Breach Azteca Fortress
The Azteca is a stronghold for Mexico in the World Cup, and they came into the match with a daunting record, having gone unbeaten in 10 such games before Sunday, but England were determined to put their ghosts behind them.
The last time they were in this stadium was a 2-1 quarter-final loss in the 1986 World Cup – due to Diego Maradona’s ‘hand of God’ goal – but Bellingham rose to the occasion.
He scored both of his goals by the 38th minute, which is the second-earliest a player has scored twice in a World Cup match for England, after Gary Lineker versus Poland in 1986 (14th minute).
But Mexico’s superstar also turned up, and Quiñones has a record to his name. No player has scored more World Cup goals for them than Quiñones (four, level with Luis Hernandez and Javier Hernandez). He is also the first-ever Mexican to score in three consecutive appearances at the finals.
England remained patient even after going a man down, though, and got their reward through Kane’s penalty.
The 32-year-old has netted six World Cup goals this year, marking only the second time a Three Lions player has hit that tally in a major tournament, after Lineker (1986) and Kane himself in 2018.
It was a landmark day for Pickford, who made his 17th World Cup appearance, equalling Peter Shilton’s all-time record. And he stood tall in goal as England faced 20 shots, five of which were on target.
But their reward is a third straight World Cup quarter-final, and an 11th overall – only Brazil (15) and Germany (14) have reached more in the tournament’s history.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Mexico vs England stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup last 16 meeting at Azteca Stadium on 5 July.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Mexico 2-3 England: Post-Match Opta Facts
England have qualified for their 11th FIFA World Cup quarter-final – only Brazil (15) and Germany (14) have reached more in World Cup history.
Mexico have been eliminated from the FIFA World Cup, and remain the nation to have played the most matches at the tournament (65) without ever winning the trophy.
Mexico conceded three goals in a match at the Estadio Azteca for the first time since August 1999 (4-3 win vs Brazil). They conceded more goals today (3) than in all their previous 10 World Cup matches at the Azteca combined (2).
Harry Kane has six 2026 FIFA World Cup goals. This is only the third time an England player has scored six goals in a major tournament – the others are Gary Lineker in the 1986 World Cup and Kane himself at the 2018 World Cup. Kane’s six World Cup penalty goals are two more than anyone else in history (excl. shoot-outs).
There were just 98 seconds between Jude Bellingham’s two goals for England – he’s now scored 70% of his England goals in major tournaments (7/10).
England had just 33.2% possession, their lowest in a FIFA World Cup match on record since 1966, while their 49 clearances were their most in a World Cup game since making 54 against Belgium in 1990.
Jarell Quansah became the fourth England player to be sent off at the FIFA World Cup, after Ray Wilkins in 1986 vs Morocco, David Beckham in 1998 vs Argentina, and Wayne Rooney in 2006 vs Portugal.
Bukayo Saka became just the third England player on record since 1966 with three assists in a single FIFA World Cup tournament, along with David Beckham in 2002 and Harry Kane in 2022.
Mexico had gone 15 consecutive first halves of FIFA World Cup football without conceding a goal before today – Jude Bellingham’s two goals were the second earliest an England player had scored two in a World Cup game (38th minute), behind Gary Lineker against Poland in 1986 (14th minute).
Julián Quiñones has scored four goals for Mexico at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, equalling Luis Hernández’s record in a single edition from 1998. Overall, the only other player with four goals in total for Mexico at the finals is Chicharito.
Declan Rice was booked for England after just 56 seconds – the fourth-earliest card awarded in FIFA World Cup history.
Jordan Pickford today equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 17 FIFA World Cup appearances for England.
Jarell Quansah tonight made his fifth England appearance – the fewest appearances by an England player starting a FIFA World Cup knockout game since Tony Dorigo in the 1990 third-place play-off (4th cap). Aside from third-place games, it was the fewest since Bobby Moore and Maurice Norman won their 5th caps against Brazil in the 1962 quarter-final.
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