England held on with 10 men, beat Mexico and reach World Cup quarters

A brilliant match with five goals, two penalties and one sending off ended in tears and heartbreak for Mexico as the World Cup co-hosts were beaten 3-2 by a 10-man England team on Sunday in the last 16.

In a match that will be probably be talked about for years to come despite its delayed kick-off, Mexico can leave the pitch with their heads held high, but it's England who will continue their journey at the tournament, bidding for a first title since 1966.

The Mexicans were aiming to reach the quarter-finals and equal their best-ever result at the tournament, but couldn't make use of their numerical advantage on the pitch.

England, meanwhile, will now face Norway, who earlier eliminated five-time champions Brazil in a 2-1 victory.

"I'm very proud. We needed everything. It was super difficult. In the moments we thought we got the momentum, we had setbacks. That's proper mentality. When things gets tough, they never give up, they never lose belief," England coach Thomas Tuchel said.

Jude Bellingham scored a brace with goals in the 36th and 38th minutes to give England the lead before Julian Quiñones pulled one back for the Mexicans in the 42nd.

In a thrilling second half, England had Jarell Quansah sent off in the 54th. Six minutes later, however, captain Harry Kane added a third from the spot after Anthony Gordon was brought down in the box.

Mexico again hit back in the 69th as they were awarded a penalty themselves and Raul Jimenez didn't waste his chance, but the English team held on to the win with a strong defensive display.

"I can't fault my team for anything. We did everything we could, and they're a great team. This is the top level, you can't make mistakes because they'll cost you dearly," Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said.

"We took a chance with our substitutions to take advantage of having an extra man, but we weren't able to do it. I have nothing but words of gratitude for everyone's support."

Brilliant Bellingham

Mexico got down to business first and Jimenez forced goalkeeper Jordan Pickford into a big save.

But overall, it was a slow first half and goal chances were rare, but the pace picked up when Bellingham became the first man to silence the Mexican crow as the co-hosts conceded their first goal of the tournament in the 36th.

Declan Rice drove forward in a counterattack and found Bukayo Saka down the right. Saka crossed the ball into the box, missing Kane, but not Bellingham's diving header.

The Real Madrid star then needed only 99 seconds to add another goal to his name.

Mexico lost possession in midfield and the ball found Kane, who teed up Bellingham in the box and he fired home with his right foot.

The Mexicans didn't panic and made it clear that things were far from over, pulling one back in the 42nd. The ball was lose after a free-kick and Quiñones collected it to smash it into the net.

Before the break, Jimenez narrowly missed the target and then forced Pickford into another huge save. From the resulting corner, Cesar Montes had the ball in perfect position to equalize, but Bellingham made a stunning tackle to send the ball over the bar.

England overcome setbacks

England were quick to attack in the second half and Nico O'Reilly hit the post from distance in the 49th. But they suffered a massive setback five minutes later as Quansah was sent off after video review for a nasty tackle on Jesus Gallardo.

Mexican fans celebrated like it was a goal for their team, but it was England who surprisingly found the net.

Kane couldn't get a ball under control and Gordon reacted to get to it before goalkeeper Raul Rangel, but was brought down by Mexico's number one.

England were awarded a penalty and Kane converted it for his sixth goal in this World Cup.

The two-goal advantage again didn't last long as Mexico got a penalty themselves because Kane rose his leg to clear the ball in the area but kicked the underside of Brian Gutierrez's foot.

Jimenez took the ball and put Mexico back in the game in the 69th, and from then on, they dominated the offensive actions.

The English team, however, didn't give up. Tuchel made defence-minded changes, and key interventions and strong goalkeeping kept Mexico at bay.

The Mexicans had one final big chance at the death, but John Stones' superb tackle ensured the ball went wide of the post.

Asked by a reporter what could stop England, Tuchel was very straightforward: "Norway," he replied.

"We need to take this in, it's a crazy game, we left everything out there. We need to take this in and it's full steam ahead."

Massive delay due to weather conditions

The match kick-off was delayed by an hour due to severe weather conditions in Mexico City.

The game was due to kick-off at 6 pm (0000 GMT), but with the threat of lightning in the area, the stadium activated its thunderstorm protocol less than an hour before the planned start.

A FIFA statement read: "Due to adverse weather conditions in Mexico City, including risk caused by lightning in the vicinity of the stadium, the kick-off of the FIFA World Cup 2026 round of 16 match between Mexico and England has been delayed to 19:00 local time.

"The safety and security of all individuals is FIFA's priority. We thank all fans for their understanding and cooperation."