Ten-man England win an Azteca classic — Bellingham's brace beats Mexico 3-2, Norway await in the last eight

Two goals before half time

Bellingham settled the early nerves fast. In the 36th minute he opened the scoring, and roughly two minutes later he had a second, quieting a crowd of more than 80,000 that had turned the Azteca into a wall of noise. England led 2-0 before the half was out. The Azteca sits above 2,200 meters, and the thin Mexico City air was supposed to favor the hosts late; instead England used the first half to bank a lead. Mexico answered before the break — Julian Quinones pulled one back in the 42nd minute to make it 2-1 at the interval — and the tie was alive again.

The red card, and 40 minutes at ten

Harry Kane restored the two-goal cushion in the second half, converting from the penalty spot after Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel brought down Anthony Gordon: 3-1. Then the game turned. Right back Jarell Quansah was sent off after a video review for a high challenge on Jesus Gallardo, and England had to defend the rest of the match a man down, at altitude, against a home crowd smelling a comeback. Raul Jimenez converted a penalty to make it 3-2, and Mexico threw everything forward through the closing stretch and long stoppage time. Jordan Pickford, who had earlier clawed away a diving Jimenez header, and a retreating England back line held the line. It finished 3-2, and the last twenty minutes were survival rather than football.

The hosts go out at home

For Mexico it is the end of the road, on the ground that means most to them. The Azteca has staged two World Cup finals and El Tri had never lost a World Cup match there before Monday, a detail underlined across the U.S. and Mexican coverage. The co-hosts of 2026 leave in the round of 16, in front of their own crowd, on a night that had the shape of a Mexican comeback until the final whistle refused to come. For England it is a fourth straight tournament reaching at least the last eight, and this time they did it the hard way — a man down for nearly the entire second half at one of the sport's most intimidating venues.

Norway next, and the bracket the Japanese reader can follow

England's quarterfinal is on July 11 in Miami. The opponent is Norway — the team that beat Brazil 2-1 a few hours earlier, with Erling Haaland scoring both goals, the same Brazil that ended Japan's tournament in the round of 32. The wall that stopped Japan was cleared by Norway; now Norway meet England. The other confirmed quarterfinal is Morocco vs France on July 9 near Boston, a rematch of the 2022 semifinal. Two round-of-16 ties remain to complete the last eight: Portugal vs Spain and United States vs Belgium, both on July 7 Japan time. Cristiano Ronaldo has said this is his final World Cup, which puts extra weight on the Iberian derby. By the time Japan-based fans wake up on July 7, the quarterfinal grid will be nearly full.