MEXICO CITY — England battled past Mexico into the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday and Norway stunned Brazil.
A day of gripping drama on and off the field was crowned by an epic contest at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca as 10-man England dug deep to defeat Mexico 3-2 in a match that more than lived up to the hype.
Jude Bellingham looked to have put England firmly on the road to the quarterfinals after scoring twice in 98 seconds to give the Three Lions a 2-0 lead after 38 minutes.
Mexico hit back through Julian Quinones to make it 2-1 at halftime and were given a huge boost on 54 minutes when England defender Jarell Quansah was given a straight red card after a VAR review.
England though shrugged off that setback to make it 3-1 with a Harry Kane penalty, AFP reported.
Mexico refused to roll over and another controversial VAR review saw them awarded a penalty by Australian referee Alireza Faghani, Raul Jimenez slotting in to make it 3-2.
England’s increasingly weary line-up resisted wave after wave of Mexican pressure to hold on for a famous victory.
“It was a crazy game. We had the occasion, everything against us, but we found a way,” captain Kane said.
Man-of-the-match Bellingham described it as the “best night of my England career.”
“In big pressure moments in years gone by watching as a fan, as a kid, England probably would have crumbled but we stuck together until the last second,” Bellingham added.
The win sends England into a quarterfinal in Miami next Saturday where they will face Norway, who defeated Brazil 2-1 in another gripping knockout battle earlier on Sunday.
Two late goals from star striker Erling Haaland set up the win for the Norwegians to shatter Brazil’s hopes of a sixth world title.
Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland produced a sensational display and saved a first-half penalty from Bruno Guimaraes before Haaland struck twice in the last 11 minutes to stun Brazil at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
“I dreamed of playing in the World Cup with Norway and taking them to the World Cup, but I never expected to win against Brazil, let’s be honest,” Haaland said. “I thought it was not possible to do some things, but I guess I’m wrong.”
Haaland’s brace took him level with Lionel Messi on seven goals for the tournament.
For Brazil, who hired Carlo Ancelotti in a bid to end a 24-year World Cup drought, it is the sixth straight tournament where they have been knocked out by European opposition.
