Edson Álvarez laments Mexico’s World Cup exit after England loss

Mexico’s World Cup run ended with a 3-2 defeat to England at the Estadio Ciudad de México, known as the Azteca, in the round of 16 on July 5, 2026. England moved on to the quarterfinals and will face Norway after a match that left the Selección Mexicana out despite late goals from Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez.

Edson Álvarez, the Mexico captain, said the squad did not feel inferior to a team of England’s stature and insisted the group “lo dio todo” even if it was not enough to reach the quarterfinals. He said the loss “duele muchísimo” because the players live the campaign as a family, a line that captured the emotional weight of a home elimination in a tournament where expectations had been high and the pressure inside the Azteca was intense.

The match turned on England’s firepower. Jude Bellingham scored twice and Harry Kane added a penalty to secure the 3-2 result, while Mexico’s response through Quiñones and Jiménez kept the contest alive but never fully erased the damage. FIFA’s match centre listed the game as a round of 16 fixture at the Ciudad de México venue with an 18:00 UTC kickoff, underscoring the scale of the occasion as one of the decisive ties of the tournament.

Álvarez also thanked the Mexican supporters, calling the crowd essential throughout the tournament, as the team tried to carry home-field expectation through the final whistle. The captain acknowledged that there had been many doubts during the process, but said the group kept fighting to the end. Johan Vásquez offered a similar assessment, saying the squad left with pain but also with the calm of knowing it had given everything on the field. Erik Lira went further, saying Mexico showed it can compete against any opponent.

For Mexico, the exit closed a run defined as much by the burden of national pride as by the result itself. For England, the victory delivered a place in the last eight and another high-stakes meeting, while Álvarez and his teammates were left to explain a defeat that hurt not only because of the scoreline, but because it ended inside a stadium that carried so much of the country’s football identity.