On the night of July 6, an event occurred in the Mexican capital that the football world will remember for a long time. The England national team, in a dramatic match, eliminated the co-hosts of the World Cup from the tournament, interrupting the hosts' unique winning streak on their legendary arena. The "Three Lions" advanced to the quarterfinals, where they await a principled showdown with Norway.

Nervous Start and Goalkeeper Records

The historic match at the Azteca stadium did not start immediately. Severe weather forced the organizers to postpone the start of the match by a full hour, which only heightened the tension before the first whistle. As soon as the teams took to the pitch, the game ignited instantly. In the opening minutes, Declan Rice received a warning, while Raul Jimenez forced Jordan Pickford to work seriously.

For the English goalkeeper, this match was special: his 17th match at World Cups allowed him to equal the age-related national record of the legendary Peter Shilton.

Bellingham's Double Strike and "El Tri's" Response

The turning point came closer to the end of the first half. Thomas Tuchel's charges delivered a phenomenal segment, with Jude Bellingham as the main character. In the 36th minute, the leader of Real Madrid finished a thin pass from Bukayo Saka, and two minutes later, he took advantage of Harry Kane's pass after successful pressing, firing into an empty net.

The Mexicans responded almost instantly. Julian Quiñones cleverly caught a rebound after a set piece and beat Pickford, setting an absolute record for his national team — 5 goal contributions in a single World Cup.

Discipline vs. Numerical Advantage

The situation on the field changed radically in the 54th minute. The English defender Jarrell Quansah was sent off for a hard tackle. The main referee initially ignored the incident, but after VAR intervention and a video review, a decision was made to issue a straight red card.

It seemed the hosts should have finished off their opponent, but the opposite happened. Down to ten men, England moved forward. Anthony Gordon won a penalty, and Harry Kane coolly converted it, increasing the score to 3-1. The Mexicans restored the intrigue in the 69th minute when Raul Jimenez scored his penalty for a foul against Gutierrez. The final assault was driven forward by the stands with all their might, but Tuchel's discipline withstood this pressure.

Broken Curse and Statistics

This match destroyed a unique football curse. For the Mexican national team, this is the first defeat at the Azteca in the final stages of World Cups. Until this night, the cult stadium had hosted 9 matches involving "El Tri," and none of them ended in defeat for the hosts.

England celebrates its 11th quarterfinal appearance in history. By this metric, the British are now in an exclusive circle of top teams, trailing only Germany (14) and Brazil (15). Notably, analysts from Opta Joe calculated that the Europeans possessed the ball for only 33.2% of the time, repeating their defensive anti-record from the victorious 1966 World Cup.

Quarterfinal Prospects

Jude Bellingham deservedly took home his second Man of the Match statuette on this tournament for his performance. Now, the 2026 World Cup bracket has formed the first quarterfinal pairs. On the night of Thursday, July 9, France and Morocco will play.

The battle between England and the sensational Norway of Erling Haaland is scheduled for the night of Sunday, July 12, at 00:00 Kyiv time.