Bellingham brace lifts England past Mexico into World Cup quarterfinals

Jude Bellingham scored twice and Harry Kane converted a second-half penalty as England beat Mexico 3-2 in a round-of-16 match on July 5, 2026, and advanced to face Norway in the quarterfinals. The result came despite Jarell Quansah’s red card, which left England with 10 men for much of the second half.

Mexico had the opening the bracket seemed to offer. England were forced into survival mode after Quansah’s VAR-awarded dismissal, but Mexico never turned the extra-man advantage into the kind of sustained pressure that would have broken England’s shape. The hosts threatened enough to get on the board, including from the penalty spot, yet they could not force an equalizer before the final whistle.

Bellingham’s quick double supplied England’s cushion, and Kane’s penalty restored separation when Mexico threatened to pull back level. Kane also added an assist, a reminder that England still had enough control in possession and enough threat in transition to punish mistakes even while shorthanded. Bellingham finished as the game’s defining player, while Kane stayed in the hunt among the tournament’s top scorers.

The win also carried symbolic weight at Estadio Azteca. England became the first team to beat Mexico there since 2013, a mark of how difficult the venue remains and how rare it is for a visiting side to take full control there. For Mexico, the defeat ended a home World Cup run in the round of 16 and exposed the same problem that surfaced after the red card: possession and effort did not translate into the game management needed to capitalize when the favorite bent. England survived the pressure, managed the clock and the space around the box, and took the opening Mexico could not.