Jude Bellingham remained one of England’s biggest pieces in its World Cup run this summer as he scored a pair of goals, and Harry Kane sealed the victory with a penalty kick goal in the 60th minute as the Three Lions held off Mexico in a 3-2 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
England became the first team to beat Mexico at Estadio Azteca – referred to as simply Azteca by football fans –since 2013, when Mexico was upset by Honduras in the fourth round of the CONCACAF qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
But the Three Lions didn’t have an easy path to victory on Sunday night, in the high-altitude fortress in Mexico City, playing most of the second half with 10 men and letting Mexico pull within one in the 69th minute after leading 3-1.
The Three Lions will now face Norway in the quarterfinals, after it defeated Brazil at MetLife Stadium earlier in the day.
Bellingham scored his fourth and fifth goals of the World Cup two minutes apart, with the first one coming in the 36th minute to give England a 1-0 lead. The breakout English star made it two in the 38th minute when he buried a shot from close range.
Julián Quiñones cut the lead to one in the 42nd minute when Mexico capitalized on a free kick.
Jarell Quansah was given a red card in the 54th minute after a haphazard tackle ended with him connecting with the shin of a Mexican player, forcing England to play with just 10 men for the rest of the match.
Kane gave the Three Lions some insurance when he scored off a penalty kick in the 60th minute, which proved to be the game-winning goal.
Raúl Jiménez scored in the 69th minute to pull Mexico within one, but England held off a Mexico push, which saw several close calls that nearly resulted in the equalizer.
