Sing and don't cry: With one less player, England defeated Mexico 3-2 and qualified for the quarter-finals

They played their fifth match in a World Cup, yes, but they will still not play what had been the fifth match until this edition. Even being at home, with a majority of their own fans, favorable geographical conditions, bothering their rivals in the lead-up, and having one extra player for more than half an hour, Mexico could not beat England and advance to the quarter-finals.

The match would start off extremely contested, with no clear dominator imposing conditions. The first to break the mold would be the locals, who at 15 would come close to opening the scoring with a diving header from Raúl Jiménez, but this would be saved by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with a timely punch.

From this chance, the Mexicans would begin to control the flow of the game, maintaining possession for long periods and approaching the opponent's area repeatedly. However, their few dangerous attempts would be much more effective, as in a burst they would score two goals: at 36, Jude Bellingham would head in a great cross from Bukayo Saka and just a few seconds later, the very No. 10 would receive an assist from Harry Kane in the area and score the 2-0.

The response from the Tri would not take long to arrive. Minutes after the last goal, following a cross from Roberto Alvarado, the ball would fall to Julián Quiñones, who would volley to reduce the deficit.

Although they would have several opportunities to equalize, such as a shot from Jiménez near the left post of Pickford, a header from the very No. 9 that the English goalkeeper would deflect to a corner, or an attempt from César Montes just under the goal that Bellingham would manage to clear just in time, Javier Aguirre's team would not manage to change the score again before halftime.

In the second half, the match would become much rougher. The proof of this would come at 51, when Quansah would deliver a true kick to Jesús Gallardo that would earn him a red card.

Despite being down to ten men, the Three Lions would not limit themselves to just defending and would reach the, given the context of the match, unexpected 3-1. At 57, goalkeeper Raúl Rangel would fail to close down in time and would bring down Anthony Gordon in the area, and the referee would not hesitate to award a penalty. The responsibility to take it would fall to Kane, who with a well-placed shot to the left post would increase the lead.

Shortly after, Mexico would get a golden opportunity to cut the deficit again, also from the penalty spot. At 66, Kane would touch the foot of substitute Brian Gutiérrez in a dispute in the area and the referee, after a VAR review, would award the maximum penalty, which would be converted into 3-2 by Jiménez.

The final stretch of the match would be almost entirely dominated by attacks from the Mexicans, who would desperately seek once again for the equalizer to at least send the match to extra time, although the European defense would hold on as best as it could to maintain their lead.

In that sense, only in the last minute of added time (+11) would they really come close to doing so, but not by their own doing, rather by a clearance from substitute John Stones that would graze the right post of Pickford. With no more sand in the hourglass, the English would end up winning in a hard-fought manner.

With this hard-fought victory, England qualified for the quarter-finals, where they will face Norway next Saturday, July 11 at 18:00 (Argentina time) at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.