England beat Mexico 3-2 at the Azteca after lightning delay, face Norway in the quarterfinal

Summary

England defeated Mexico 3-2 in the FIFA Fifa World Cup 2026 round of 16 at the Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, in the early hours of July 6, knocking out the tournament's co-host in front of a capacity crowd of more than 87,000. Jude Bellingham scored twice in two minutes in the first half, and Harry Kane converted a penalty to give England a 3-1 lead. Mexico pulled one back to make it 3-2, and England saw out the final phase with 10 men after a red card. ESPN described the result as England's best win on foreign soil in their history. The match had been delayed 90 minutes from its scheduled start by a lightning storm over Mexico City; it kicked off at approximately 01:30 UTC on July 6 and ended around 03:40 UTC. England now face Norway in the quarterfinal on July 11 in Miami, with Erling Haaland's seven-goal tournament total waiting.

The split

British press (Sky Sports, ITV, Goal.com) framed the result as generational: Bellingham's brace in two minutes against the tournament's most partisan crowd placed him alongside the England greats. The Guardian and ESPN called it England's best away result since the sport began. Mexican press (El Universal, Mediotiempo, Milenio) used the term "el Aztecazo" for what their reporters called the worst night in Mexican football since 1986: Mexico created 19 shots but failed to convert when the match was there to win. Latin American coverage (Infobae, CNN Español, BluRadio) emphasised the structural irony: Mexico as co-host exiting before the quarterfinal in a tournament awarded partly on the strength of Mexico's bid. Italian and French outlets noted the red card as the match's defining late drama. Korean and Japanese morning papers led with Bellingham, whose commercial profile in East Asia is substantial.

By the numbers

• 3-2, final score (England-Mexico)
• 2, Bellingham's goals, scored within two minutes of each other
• 90 minutes, pre-kickoff delay caused by lightning over Mexico City
• 19, Mexico's total shots (AP)
• 10, England players in the closing stages after the red card
• 7, Haaland goals for Norway this tournament, England's next opponent
• July 11, date of England-Norway quarterfinal in Miami

Why it matters

Mexico's elimination at the round of 16 as a World Cup co-host is both a football and a political story: the argument for awarding the 2026 tournament to Canada, Mexico and the USA partly rested on Mexico delivering a home-soil deep run, a narrative that Mexico's 2022 group-stage exit had already complicated. For England, a win that required holding on with 10 men against the tournament's loudest home crowd confirms Gareth Southgate's side as genuine title contenders. The Bellingham-Haaland quarterfinal is now the tournament's defining individual matchup, two Premier League contemporaries at the sport's largest stage.

What to watch

• England-Norway quarterfinal (July 11, Miami): Haaland's seven-goal run against England's defence, which survived Mexico's 19-shot pressure but conceded twice
• Whether the red-card suspension rules out the sent-off player for the quarterfinal, reshaping England's backline
• Mexico's post-tournament review: Gerardo Martino's contract and the federation's 2030 strategy
• Bellingham's fitness: two goals plus 90-plus minutes in Mexico City altitude and humidity; recovery before July 11 is short