England survived a red card and a determined Mexican comeback to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, edging out the co-hosts 3-2 in a thrilling last-16 tie at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca on Sunday.
Jude Bellingham set the tone early, scoring twice inside 98 seconds to put England 2-0 up after 38 minutes. Mexico hit back through Julian Quinones just before the break to make it 2-1 at half-time.
The contest turned again seven minutes into the second half when England defender Jarell Quansah was shown a straight red card following a VAR review, leaving the visitors to play the rest of the match with ten men.
Despite the setback, England extended their lead through a Harry Kane penalty to make it 3-1. Mexico were far from finished, though, and won a contentious penalty of their own after another VAR intervention from Australian referee Alireza Faghani. Raul Jimenez converted to reduce the deficit to 3-2.
What followed was a prolonged spell of Mexican pressure as England's ten men, increasingly tired, dug in to protect their lead. They held on to secure a famous win and a place in the last eight.
Captain Harry Kane described the difficulty of the occasion afterwards. "It was a crazy game. We had the occasion, everything against us, but we found a way," he said.
Bellingham, named man of the match for his decisive double, called it the best night of his 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," he added.
The result sends England into a quarter-final clash with Norway in Miami next Saturday, with the Three Lions needing to manage the suspension of Quansah for that fixture.
