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2026 FIFA World Cup
19JUL

England oust Mexico to reach last eight

2 min read
14:25UTC

Jude Bellingham scored twice in 98 seconds and England survived Jarell Quansah's red card to beat co-host Mexico 3-2 at the Azteca and reach the quarter-finals.

SportAssessed
Key takeaway

England beat Mexico 3-2 with ten men to reach the quarter-finals against Norway.

Jude Bellingham scored twice in 98 seconds, in the 36th and 38th minutes, as England beat co-host Mexico 3-2 at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday to reach the World Cup quarter-finals 1. Harry Kane added a penalty on the hour, and England held on after Jarell Quansah was sent off on a straight red in the 54th minute, setting up a last-eight tie against Norway in Miami on 11 July.

Mexico had won all three group games, the only side in the tournament to manage it, and arrived at their spiritual home unbeaten. Jesus Quinones levelled on 42 minutes and Raul Jimenez converted a 69th-minute penalty, but the co-hosts could not find a third against ten men. England, 2-1 winners over DR Congo in the previous round , saw out the final half-hour a player short.

Bellingham's double, in front of 80,824, was the fastest brace seen at the Azteca since Diego Maradona defined the ground at the 1986 World Cup, 40 years on 2. Thomas Tuchel, England's head coach, said his players had to dig in once reduced to ten, and Quansah's dismissal now rules the defender out of the Norway quarter-final. Mexico, meanwhile, became the second host nation eliminated inside two days, turning the night's attention from the scoreline to the city outside the stadium.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

England had already scored twice before Jarell Quansah was sent off, meaning the referee showed him a straight red card and England had to play the rest of the match with only ten players instead of eleven. Being down to ten men usually makes a side more vulnerable, because the extra work falls on fewer legs. The Estadio Azteca also sits over 2,000 metres above sea level, which makes hard running tougher for visiting teams unused to the thin air. England held on anyway, winning 3-2, and now play Norway in Miami on 11 July for a place in the semi-finals. A quarter-final is the last-eight stage of the tournament, one round before the semi-finals.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

Quansah's dismissal caught England two goals clear, not one, meaning Mexico needed two scores rather than a single equaliser to force extra time. That arithmetic, more than any tactical switch, bought Tuchel's side its margin for error.

Mexico's response was to commit extra bodies forward in search of the second goal, which opened the same space behind their back line that Kane exploited from the penalty spot. A chasing team's overcommitment, not England's containment alone, turned a nervy final half-hour into a manageable one.

First Reported In

Update #35 · England oust Mexico; Azteca held safe

BBC Sport· 6 Jul 2026
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Different Perspectives
FairSquare
FairSquare
FairSquare has referred Gianni Infantino to the International Olympic Committee's Ethics Commission over FIFA's political-neutrality rules, using the IOC's authority as a lever FIFA's own president-appointed Ethics Committee cannot provide against itself. Trump's on-podium presence at the final, with Infantino visibly moving him aside, becomes an exhibit for that complaint rather than an argument for it.
Fiscalía General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México
Fiscalía General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México
Mexico City's prosecutor has opened four homicide investigations into the crush that killed Emilín Yumith Téllez, Joshami Iraís Robles, Leonardo Ruiz and an unidentified fourth victim at the Ángel de la Independencia, three of them classified as negligent homicide. Three weeks after the final whistle, no determination has been reached.
FIFA / Gianni Infantino
FIFA / Gianni Infantino
Infantino called the 48-team format "100 percent" right and confirmed FIFA's committees will examine expanding to 64 teams for 2030, on the strength of a goal count FIFA has never published as one audited total for all 104 matches. FIFA has issued no statement on the Malvinas banner review or the Bellingham file since deferring both past the final.
Claudio Tapia / AFA
Claudio Tapia / AFA
AFA president Claudio Tapia told the squad to stand tall after the final, and Argentina's own press did not contest the result, framing the defeat around the possible end of the Messi era rather than any complaint about the match itself. Messi ruled out only the 2030 tournament, leaving his Copa America future unaddressed.
Luis de la Fuente / Spain
Luis de la Fuente / Spain
Luis de la Fuente nominated Rodri for the Ballon d'Or after the final, framing a title built on one goal conceded as proof a team can win through control rather than scoring. His squad carried eight Barcelona players and none from Real Madrid, the first time that has happened in the federation's history.
Football data analysts
Football data analysts
A 6-4 between exhausted, eliminated sides making four half-time changes each reads as collapsed defensive intensity, not proof of a better format. The number that actually tests the 48-team expansion is the per-match rate, roughly 2.9 against 2022's 2.69, not the raw 300-goal aggregate padded by forty extra fixtures.