England somehow banished their demons at the iconic Estadio Azteca with a 3-2 victory against co-hosts in Mexico in the wildest game of this World Cup so far.
Five goals, two penalties and a red card were the culprit for the Round of 16 madness with England skipper Harry Kane turning from hero to villain, Jude Bellingham ultimately proving to be the difference and a spirited home side refuses to say die.
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Thomas Tuchel’s side were reduced to ten men for much of second half after Jarell Quansah was sent off following a VAR check in the 54th minute.
VAR intervened to give Quansah his marching orders as the Bayer Leverkusen defender collected Jesus Gallardo with a studs up challenge.
Play continued as Quansah initially went unpunished but the outrage on the touchline sparked a scuffle between the two teams on the sidelines.
The Mexico players alerted Iranian-Australian referee Alireza Faghani to what has happening pitch side when he blew the whistle to pay a free to England on the edge of the penalty area.
That interruption led to the VAR check and Faghani watched the replay once before reaching for his pocket.
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RECKLESS England tackle results in red | 00:30
The referee was at the centre of the action for the next 15 minutes too.
Mexico initially were unable to make the most of their advantage as goalkeeper Raul Rangel brought down Anthony Gordon in the box as the new recent Barcelona signing charged towards goal.
England skipper Harry Kane then stepped up to coolly slot a penalty to reinstate the two-goal buffer on the hour mark and edge closer to Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in the golden boot race.
There was no time for Kane to celebrate his sixth goal of the tournament, however.
Kane scores match winner for England! | 00:31
He essentially cancelled out his goal nine minutes later.
Kane attempted a clearance at the other end of the park but caught Brian Gutierrez with his boot in the process.
Once again VAR stepped in and a second penalty of the game was awarded.
Raul Jimenez then converted from the spot to set up a thrilling final half an hour and change.
Mexico pushed but were unable to find a third goal even with 11 minutes added of time due to all the interruptions.
The tensions did not ease either as Jordan Henderson earned himself a yellow card while on the sidelines in a substitute’s vest.
The veteran midfielder then injured his wrist during the celebrations post-game as he fell off an advertising board after joining the England fans.
Hearts were in mouths in the 101st minute as a near own goal almost proved to be the equaliser from a clearance that was nearly botched.
Mexico had two corners at the death afterwards, but were unable to find a breakthrough despite having 14 more shots and completing 225 more passes.
England had just 33.2 per cent possession – their lowest on record in a World Cup game since 1966.
They also made 48 clearances, their most at the World Cup since 1990.
Kane summed up the English endevaour by having lost his voice in a post-match interview.
“It was a crazy game,” the England captain told the BBC.
“We had to fight and we had to find something. I’ve just been singing, I can’t really talk. The occasion, the team, everything against us, we found a way.”
He added: “Incredible, unbelievable support. [I’m] speechless.”
Kane battling hard during post match | 00:34
The England manager was similarly taken aback by the incredible scenes.
“We needed everything,” Tuchel said.
“It was super difficult and always in the moments when we thought we catch the momentum, we had like setbacks. But that’s proper mentality. … When the going gets tough, they never give up. They never lose belief.
It was one step more. We need two days now. We need to take this in. This is at stake. It’s Mexico. So they need to take this in, and yeah, now it’s full steam ahead.”
In the end, Bellingham’s brace in the space of 99 seconds proved to be the difference.
That came before Julian Quinones pegged one back for the hosts in a six-minute spree which included three goals.
Bellingham headed home at the back post to cap off a superb build up and given the Three Lions the opening goal.
The Real Madrid midfielder then charged into the box to get on the end of another ball moments later to calmly slotted home into an almost empty net.
England fans prayed that Bellingham had banished their demons in the Mexican capital with his impressive double.
He became the first non-Mexican player to bag a brace at the iconic venue since Diego Maradona scored both Argentina’s goals in the 1986 semi-final.
Maradona also found the back of the net twice in the previous round, including his famous ‘Hand of God’ goal, when Argentina came from behind to knock out England.
Older generations in their living rooms, or in pubs, across the Old Dart might have been getting flashbacks to that lead being squandered when Julian Quinones blasted a strike past Jordan Pickford to give the hosts their opening goal.
Mexico could have easily taken the lead earlier in the contest, but Pickford made a splendid save diving to his left at the near post to deny Jimenez shortly before the first half hydration break.
The Everton shot stopper was called into action repeatedly in the dying moments of the opening half, notably, tipping away another shot that was headed for the top corner.
While Bellingham was the hero at the other end of the pitch too as he pulled off a desperate goal line clearance when Cesar Montes looked certain to equalise as the ball spilled to him inside the six-yard box on the stroke of half time.
Victory books England a date with Norway in the quarter-finals after Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland powered the Scandinavian nation past five-time champions Brazil earlier on Monday morning.
That final eight contest will take place in Miami on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Mexico were unable to match their best ever run at a World Cup.
They reached the quarter-finals when they hosted in 1970 and 1986.
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