England Edges Mexico 3-2 at Azteca to Set Up Norway Clash
Jakarta. Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane powered England into the World Cup quarterfinals, overcoming a raucous crowd, the high altitude of Estadio Azteca and a second-half red card to beat Mexico 3-2 in a thrilling round-of-16 match Sunday night.
In the same stadium where England suffered Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal against Argentina at the 1986 World Cup, it was Kane's right foot that delivered redemption 40 years later.
Bellingham scored twice in a span of 98 seconds late in the first half, and six minutes after Jarell Quansah was sent off, Kane converted a penalty to restore England's two-goal advantage.
England advances to face Norway on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida, for a place in the semifinals.
"It was a crazy game. We had to fight," Kane said, his voice hoarse. "I can't really talk, but the occasion, the team, everything against us — we found a way."
Bellingham silenced the crowd of 80,824 at a stadium where Mexico had been unbeaten in 10 World Cup matches, including three at this year's tournament. He opened the scoring with a header in the 36th minute before adding a second in the 38th after being set up by Kane.
Julián Quiñones pulled one back for El Tri in the 42nd minute, and momentum appeared to swing in Mexico's favor when Quansah received a red card in the 54th minute for a dangerous challenge on Jesús Gallardo.
But England was awarded a penalty after Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel brought down an attacker in the area, and Kane calmly converted for his sixth goal of the tournament and the 14th of his World Cup career, tying West Germany's Gerd Müller for fifth on the all-time scoring list. Kane trails Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland by one goal in the Golden Boot race.
Kane then became the first player since at least 1966 to both score and concede a penalty in the same World Cup match after fouling an opponent in the box. Raúl Jiménez converted with a stutter-step run-up to cut England's lead to 3-2.
Mexico poured forward over the final 21 minutes, plus 11 minutes of stoppage time, but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and England's defense stood firm.
"This is probably one of the biggest England wins in a while, probably the biggest one I can remember as a fan or player," Bellingham said. "The best night of my England career."
Midfielder Jordan Henderson was taken to a hospital after the match with a wrist injury, coach Thomas Tuchel said. Henderson was hurt after tumbling over an advertising board during the postgame celebrations.
"It's quite a serious injury," Tuchel said.
Mexico has not reached the World Cup quarterfinals since hosting the tournament in 1986. Since then, El Tri has lost in the round of 16 eight times, failed to advance beyond the group stage in 2022 and was disqualified from the 1990 tournament.
It was Mexico's third competitive defeat at Estadio Azteca, which opened in 1966, following 2-1 World Cup qualifying losses to Costa Rica in 2001 and Honduras in 2013.
The stadium sits 7,300 feet (2,200 meters) above sea level, and England's travel schedule left little opportunity to acclimatize. Mexico's passionate supporters blasted horns outside England's hotel in an attempt to disrupt the players' sleep, and kickoff was delayed by an hour because of a thunderstorm.
None of it proved enough to stop England, which moves on to the quarterfinals in pursuit of its first World Cup title since 1966. The team's outnumbered supporters celebrated the victory by singing Oasis' "Wonderwall" long after the final whistle.
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