Bellingham double puts 10-man England 2-1 up against Mexico at Azteca in World Cup thriller

Jude Bellingham struck twice in 36 minutes to give England a 2-1 half-time lead over Mexico in their World Cup round of 16 tie at Estadio Azteca, in what BBC pundit Joe Hart described as “an absolute belter of a game” after a breathless opening 45 minutes.

Kick-off in Mexico City was delayed by an hour after the stadium activated its storm protocol, which prevents play within 30 minutes of a lightning strike recorded within an eight-mile radius. Both sets of supporters used the wait to build a fever-pitch atmosphere, with every Mexican touch greeted by a rolling ‘ole’ and every English touch met with sustained jeers from the predominantly home crowd.

Mexico had the better of the early exchanges. Declan Rice was booked inside a minute for a high boot, and Raul Jimenez forced a sharp low save from Jordan Pickford on 15 minutes. England’s quality on the counter, however, proved decisive before the break.

On 36 minutes, Pickford launched a swift counter-attack that moved through Rice to Bukayo Saka on the right. Saka’s cross was met by Bellingham’s diving header to open the scoring. England doubled their lead almost immediately when Elliot Anderson won possession 25 yards out, Harry Kane rolled the ball across the face of goal, and Bellingham slid home his second of the night.

Mexico responded within four minutes. Julian Quinones smashed a volley into the net after Ezri Konsa could only deflect a whipped free kick across the six-yard box, and the hosts pushed hard to level before half-time. Jimenez dragged one effort wide and then saw a looping header turned over the bar by an acrobatic Pickford. Bellingham himself made a crucial defensive intervention to prevent Cesar Montes from tapping in from the resulting corner.

“This is an absolute belter of a game — I wish I was in that stadium,” Hart said at the interval. “The energy is through the roof. Just when you thought England had silenced them, for Mexico to come back and score that goal, then make it absolute backs to the walls for the last five minutes. But they dug in — big save from Jordan Pickford, good defending from Jude Bellingham.”

England’s performances in the group stage had drawn criticism, while Mexico arrived having won all four of their previous matches without conceding. The first half suggested a very different contest was underway.