One of England’s ‘greatest results’ as they win a World Cup classic at the Azteca

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane were on target as Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions dug deep to beat Mexico and set up a quarterfinal tie against Norway. It was an occasion worthy of the final itself. After a delayed kick-off, two penalties, a sending off, 11 minutes of injury-time and facing a hostile home crowd at the Estadio Azteca, England dug deep to hold on and beat Mexico 3-2 in a World Cup classic. The Three Lions became only the third team ever to win a competitive match at the iconic stadium in Mexico City with Jude Bellingham scoring a first-half brace and Harry Kane on target from the spot. With England two up through Bellingham’s goals on 36 and 38 minutes, Mexico struck back just before the break after Julián Quiñones smashed home inside the area. Jarell Quansah’s straight red card on 54 minutes gave further momentum to the co-host nation, but England restored their two-goal lead on the hour mark through Kane’s penalty, his sixth goal of the tournament. Down to 10 men, England were up against it after Mexico cut the deficit to 3-2 with Raúl Jiménez’s penalty on 69 minutes. However, the final half-hour saw Thomas Tuchel’s side put on a superb defensive display to set up a quarterfinal tie with Norway on Saturday evening (11 pm CEST). In what is now their post-match winning routine at this World Cup, England’s players joined their fans to celebrate and sing their new anthem, Oasis’ “Wonderwall”. “Very proud,” said England boss Tuchel after the game. “We needed everything. It was super difficult. In the moments we thought we catch the momentum, we had setbacks. That is proper mentality. “This team really mean it. When the going gets tough, they never give up, they never lose belief. It was one step more. We need to take this in. This is Azteca, it's Mexico, a crazy game. We left everything out there, every single one of us. We need to take this in, now it's full steam ahead.” Winning at a ‘pantheon of sport’ All the talk before the game was about how England could cope with the altitude in Mexico City. Facing Mexico's significant home advantage and a kick-off which was delayed by an hour, the Three Lions “dug in heroically” to win at “alti-Jude”, said David Richardson on Sky Sports. England have a long history at the brilliant Azteca, playing six matches there before their victory over Mexico. Their most memorable outing came at the 1986 World Cup, when they beat Paraguay 3-0 in the last 16 before suffering a heartbreaking 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Argentina, remembered for Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal and his stunning solo effort. There were “amazing scenes” at the end of the game, said Jess Anderson on the BBC. The victory in the Azteca feels “huge”, especially as it’s 40 years on from the Hand of God. “This England bunch have won at this pantheon of sport.” The Three Lions have “buried the ghosts” of the Azteca with this thrilling victory, said Shivam Pathak on ESPN. It was all a bit too much for captain Kane, however, whose voice was “completely zapped” when he spoke to the media. Literally “speechless”, Kane said: "It was a crazy game. We had to fight and we had to find something. I've just been singing, I can't really talk. The occasion, the team, everything against us, we found a way." Summing it up on the BBC, this will go down as “one of the greatest results in England's World Cup history”, said commentator Guy Mowbray. “Nobody should ever have that much drama at four in the morning.”