World Cup: Bellingham and Kane send ten-man England through with tough win over Mexico | OneFootball

England advanced to the quarter-finals for the third time on the trot in the World Cup after a hard-fought win over Mexico at Azteca. Former Borussia Dortmund superstar Jude Bellingham and FC Bayern’s striker Harry Kane scored the goals for Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Mexico were the better side in the first-half, but a quickfire double from Jude Bellingham undid them. Bukayo Saka’s precise cross led to the opener for the Real Madrid midfielder before he played a brilliant one-two with Kane to double their advantage a couple of minutes later.

Just before half-time, Julian Quiñones tied Bellingham’s four-goal tally with a powerful finish to restore the electric atmosphere at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. In Mexico’s last game at the stadium, irrespective of the scoreline, the home fans got more reason to believe when Bayer Leverkusen’s Jarell Quansah saw a straight red card ten minutes after the restart.

However, England were leading by two once again after only three minutes. Harry Kane dispatched his second penalty-kick of the tournament with usual aplomb after Mexican goalkeeper Raul Rangel’s challenge on Anthony Gordon. The Newcastle United winger also provided both assists when Kane scored a brace in the comeback win over DR Congo.

FC Bayern’s star striker then wrote his name in history books by becoming the first player to score and concede a penalty-kick in a World Cup game. Jordan Pickford denied Raúl Jiménez with two world-class saves in the first-half, but the striker, who has never missed a Premier League penalty-kick, made no mistake in delivering the next drama.

Mexico had more than 80% possession for the rest of the game, but their attempts at bombarding England’s box with crosses didn’t bear fruit in the end. After keeping four clean sheets until this point, Mexico are eliminated from the World Cup in the Round of 16 stage for the eighth time in the last nine editions.

Tuchel’s troops will continue their campaign against Norway in the quarter-finals. Leeds-born Erling Haaland will face more players he is accustomed to in the Premier League, while Harry Kane is now only within one goal of the leading pack in the race for the Golden Boot: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and the former Dortmund star, Haaland.