Jude Bellingham has urged England fans to take the day off work after his double fired Thomas Tuchel’s side into the World Cup quarter-finals with a 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium. The Real Madrid midfielder, still only 23, scored two first-half goals in a pulsating victory that saw the 10-man visitors weather a storm of altitude, noise and Mexican intensity. “Text your bosses and tell them you’re not going in,” Bellingham said. “Kids stay off school, parents don’t go to work and enjoy the day. Go down the pub with your friends again because these nights don’t come around often.”
The game unfolded in distinct phases, so much so that England assistant coach Anthony Barry described it as “five smaller games”. Barry revealed at half-time that the plan had been to survive the opening period: “Up until the first water break it would be a difficult game. We would have to suffer. Mexico always start fast. We knew 0-0 would be a good result.” Tuchel, who had called for his side to be “smart and pick the right moments” in their pressing, saw England take an average of 37 seconds to recover the ball in the first half – up from 12.1 seconds in their previous four matches. Elliot Anderson held his position deeper than usual to cut off Mexico’s escape routes, while Harry Kane, Bellingham and an extra forward disrupted builds from deep.
“Jude Bellingham's brace fires England past Mexico as five stars risk quarter-final ban.”
Bellingham, who now has four goals in the tournament – only Harry Kane (six), Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi (seven) have more – insisted the squad’s unity was driving the run. “No, I’ve never been prouder of a group of lads, a squad or a nation,” he said. “It was a country’s performance. All we’ve talked about this week is how difficult it was going to be in an unbelievable atmosphere against a very, very good team. To get this win, it’s the best night of my England career for sure.”
But the triumph has come at a cost: five England players are now one booking away from a suspension, with World Cup yellow cards wiped only after the quarter-final stage. Tuchel’s side will face Norway in the last eight, knowing that any of the five cautioned against Mexico risks missing a potential semi-final if they are booked again.