Bellingham double helps 10-man England beat Mexico in World Cup thriller

Jude Bellingham turned a tight Round of 16 into a two-minute England surge at Mexico City Stadium, scoring in the 36th and 38th minutes before Harry Kane added a penalty in the 60th. England still had to survive a late Mexico response and played part of the match with 10 men before sealing a 3-2 win at the Azteca.

The game opened as a test of composure more than rhythm. Mexico struck first through Quinones in the 42nd minute, only after Bellingham had already given England control with a quick double that changed the terms of the contest. Kane’s penalty restored England’s cushion after the interval, but the match remained volatile, with every mistake carrying immediate consequences.

Mexico kept pressing and found another opening from the spot in the 69th minute, when Raul Jimenez converted a penalty to cut the gap again. By then, the game had become a study in momentum swings, with England forced to manage pressure, time, and a numerical disadvantage while protecting the lead that Bellingham and Kane had built.

The result sent England into a quarter-final against Norway and deepened the focus on a side already under close scrutiny for its tournament path. FIFA’s preview had pointed to England’s run to the 2018 semi-finals and the 2022 quarter-finals as the context for another potential march through the knockout rounds, and this victory kept that route alive.

The setting also carried history. England’s previous World Cup loss at the same Mexico venue came in 1986, when Argentina beat the Three Lions 2-1 in a match forever linked with Diego Maradona’s Hand of God. Nearly four decades later, England left the Azteca with a different result, but the same sense that knockout football at this level can turn on discipline, penalties and a brief burst of finishing quality as much as on possession or reputation.