HEADS FOR HEIGHTS<\/p>\n
For Mexico City 1986, Saint-\u00c9tienne 1998 and Gelsenkirchen 2006, do not read Mexico City 2026. History told us England simply do not progress at the World Cup in adverse conditions. When the chips are down, the Three Lions crumble \u2026 Until now<\/a>. So how apt it feels for England fans that, 40 years on from their luckless defeat by Argentina at the Azteca \u2013 Diego Maradona\u2019s Hand of God and all that \u2013 their team found a way to triumph when it appeared everything was stacked against them. The word \u201caltitude\u201d was bandied round the media with a reckless abandon in the prelude to Mexico v England. Journalists trudged dutifully around Mexico City comparing 5k times to their parkrun PBs back home, in some vague attempt to illustrate how tough it would be for, you know, actual professional athletes. We were told this was the impossible job, a bridge too far in the cathedral of Mexican football against the GWC co-hosts who rarely lose there, and who came into the tie on a run of four successive wins at the tournament, no goals conceded.<\/p>\n Rip up the script and start again. Forget altitude, Thomas Tuchel\u2019s team are all about attitude, exhibiting a spirit so rarely seen<\/a> by England on the global stage. An hour\u2019s delay to the kick-off, due to storms, further hampered England\u2019s preparations at the Azteca (and kept everyone awake a little longer back in Blighty) before a wall of Mexican noise greeted them. It was hard to quibble with Jarell Quansah\u2019s red card for a bad tackle, while the penalty awarded against Harry Kane, after a VAR intervention, could have been decisive. Tuchel lamented the officials in his post-match interview<\/a>. But in real time he had some serious decisions to make, and boy did they pay off<\/a>, as England dropped into a 5-3-1 formation, Tuchel trusting his troops to complete a defensive rearguard for the ages. It wasn\u2019t quite against all odds, but it defied English tournament history. The last time an England player was sent off in the World Cup was Wayne Rooney in 2006 against Portugal. The time before was David Beckham v Argentina in 1998. Remember how they ended? Course you do.<\/p>\n More England joy. Photograph: Paul Childs\/Reuters<\/p>\n At the heart of this lionhearted performance was Jude Bellingham, whose two first-half goals set the night in motion, before he turned into a defensive and mentality monster<\/a> as England battled to see it out with 10 men. Anthony Gordon had his best game in an England shirt, making a mockery of those \u2013 Football Daily included \u2013 who queried his transfer to Barcelona, while a special mention must go to Dan Burn, ushered on to head, hoof and hack the ball away from goal, sticking to his task so diligently that he willingly put his head in front of a Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez bicycle kick from a yard away. In Bellingham it\u2019s clear England have a young leader who brings inspiration on the pitch but also to fans back home. This is a 23-year-old from Stourbridge who is undaunted on football\u2019s biggest stages, living out the dreams of supporters, and who was very on-message when he cheekily told those watching in the wee hours of the morning back home<\/a> to \u201chave another shot\u201d and text their bosses to skip work. Dear England fans: whether you\u2019re on the clock today or not, please find time to drink in this epic victory.<\/p>\n LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE<\/p>\n More last-16 action ahoy! Join Scott Murray at 8pm BST\/3pm EDT for Portugal 1-2 Spain, then Beau Dure will be on hand at 1am BST\/8pm EDT for USA USA USA 3-2 Belgium.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED FOLLOWING<\/p>\n How do you do fellow kids? Yes, there\u2019s now a TikBook account<\/a> with all things of a Big Website sporting focus. So, if you\u2019re there, you know what to do.\u200a<\/p>\n QUOTE OF THE DAY<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know that 5 July was equal to 1 April at Fifa. The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not defend the national team \u2013 it defends football in general. It defends its integrity. It defends its ethics\u201d \u2013 a seething Rudi Garcia responds to Fifa\u2019s decision to \u201csuspend\u201d Folarin Balogun\u2019s one-match ban<\/a>, meaning the USA USA USA striker is available for their last-16 clash. Donald Trump, incidentally, made three calls to Fifa, starting from Wednesday, to ensure the change was made. \u201cThank you to Fifa for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!\u201d he posted on his social media disgrace, while Uefa offered its own interpretation<\/a>: \u201cYesterday\u2019s decision \u2026 crossed a red line. Football, like any other sports, relies on rules, which are the basis for fair, honest and transparent competition. Sometimes rules are open to interpretation. In this case not.\u201d<\/p>\n Folarin Balogun is going to be carrying some unhelpful weight either way now. Photograph: John Dorton\/USSF\/Getty Images<\/p>\n double quotation markI trust that as I write and, as his last patriotic act as prime minister, Keir Starmer is having high-level discussions with Gianni Infantino to have Jarell Quansah\u2019s red card rescinded before the game with Norway on Saturday? \u2018Special relationship\u2019 and all that\u201d \u2013 Stevie Ewens (and 1,056 others).<\/p>\n double quotation markHands up those who would love to have watched Paraguay v Uruguay as the GWC final\u201d \u2013 Tim Diggles.<\/p>\n If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com<\/a>. Today\u2019s prizeless letter o\u2019 the day is \u2026 Double rollover! Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here<\/a>.\u200a<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED LISTENING<\/p>\n Get your ears around the latest episode<\/a> of the World Cup Daily podcast, or you can watch it as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n