England weathered a fierce storm at the Estadio Azteca, held firm when Mexico piled on the pressure, and claimed a 3-2 win to book a World Cup quarter-final clash with Norway.
Here are our Scout Notes from the match, featuring match stats from our World Cup Toolkit page.
ENGLAND 3-2 MEXICO
- Goals: Bellingham x2, Kane | Quinones, Jimenez
- Assists: Kane, Saka | Alvarado
- Penalty wins: Gordon | Gutiérrez
- Tackle bonus: Bellingham, Saka, Gordon, Anderson
- Shots on target bonus: Jimenez
- Top points scorers: Bellingham (15), Jimenez (10), Kane (9), Quinones (9), Saka (7), Gordon (7), Alvarado (7)
TEAM STATS
PLAYER STATS
SCOUT NOTES
- England made three changes to the side that beat DR Congo 2-1 in Round 3. Anthony Gordon ($7.0m) replaced Marcus Rashford ($7.5m) on the left wing, while Bukayo Saka ($9.5m) came in for Noni Madueke ($6.1m) on the right. There were also concerns over the availability of Jarell Quansah ($4.4m) and Reece James ($5.2m) before kick-off, but the former was deemed fit enough to start.
- Mexico, meanwhile, stuck with the same side that had reached the Round of 16.
- The raw statistics suggested Mexico controlled much of the match. They dominated possession with 67% of the ball, registered 14 more shots and won 10 more corners than England. The key attacking numbers were much closer, however. Both sides generated similar xG (expected goals), while England created one more big chance.
- And, of course, numbers don’t tell the full story. The match turned on key moments. Mexico were twice two goals down at 2-0 and 3-1, so the onus was on them to throw everything forward at that point. Even more significantly, England were down to 10 men for almost 50 minutes (including injury time) – so it was a rearguard effort from that juncture. The BBC Sport ‘momentum’ chart shows the significance of the red card:
- Mexico threatened from the opening whistle. Raúl Jiménez ($7.0m) forced an excellent early save from Jordan Pickford ($4.8m) after a dangerous Roberto Alvarado ($5.3m) delivery. Julián Quiñones ($5.6m) and Jiménez linked up again later, but Jiménez fired a huge chance wide. Mexico kept creating opportunities. Jude Bellingham ($8.3m) produced a superb last-ditch tackle to deny César Montes ($4.7m) a tap-in, while Pickford made another outstanding save to keep out Jiménez after, once again, Alvarado created the chance.
- The co-hosts did eventually get joy to reduce England’s advantage. Alvarado swung in a free-kick that the in-form Quinones rifled home, before Jimenez converted a penalty after Brian Gutiérrez ($4.6m) won the spot-kick.
- England progressed, but they gave up far too many good opportunities. That will concern Fantasy managers as the tournament goes on. The Three Lions have now conceded twice in two different World Cup matches, raising fresh doubts over their defensive assets – not ideal preparation when you’re going to face Erling Haaland in the quarter-finals.
“I think we can play much better… there’s still a disconnect from the best version of us… in terms of football performance, ball possession, finding spaces.” – Thomas Tuchel
- Pickford played a big role in England’s victory. His goals prevented figure finished at -0.18, but that statistic didn’t reflect the quality of his saves. He denied Mexico on several occasions and kept England in the contest when they came under pressure.
“As a defender, having a world-class keeper behind you is always a good thing. We know how good he is… happy with his performance and happy with our performance at the same time.” – Ezri Konsa on Jordan Pickford
- On the positive side, England looked far more clinical than Mexico in attack. They created fewer attempts, but they carved out the better openings. Bellingham changed the game with two goals in the space of two minutes before half-time. He opened the scoring by powering home a close-range header from Saka’s clipped cross. Moments later, relentless pressing from Gordon won possession high up the pitch. A quick one-two with Harry Kane ($10.5m) left Bellingham with a simple finish for his second.
- England’s biggest names delivered again. Kane continued his outstanding World Cup campaign. He set up Bellingham’s second goal before calmly converting a penalty to make it 3-1. He finished with nine Fantasy points, although it could have been more if he hadn’t conceded a penalty at the other end.
- Saka contributed with an assist, but Gordon arguably made the strongest case to keep his place on the left wing. He pressed aggressively from the first whistle and repeatedly forced Mexico into mistakes. His pressure sparked England’s opening goal, and he then won the penalty after driving into the box and drawing a foul from the Mexico goalkeeper.
- Nico O’Reilly ($4.7m), not for the first time, also came close to getting on the scoresheet. Jarell Quansah ($4.4m) launched a long throw into the area, the ball broke kindly, and O’Reilly’s deflected strike crashed against the post.
- England had to dig deep after the break. Quansah’s high challenge led to a straight red card following a VAR review in the 54th minute. He will now serve a one-match suspension (at least), ruling him out of the quarter-final against Norway.
- There was little concern on the injury front after the match. The only fresh issue involved squad player Jordan Henderson ($5.1m), who injured his arm after jumping over an advertising board and later left on a stretcher.
“Not good. Not good… Jordan just fell over and injured his wrist. It looks really bad.” – Thomas Tuchel
