England held off Mexico 3-2 in a chaotic round-of-16 FIFA World Cup match at Azteca Stadium on Sunday night.
Despite playing 10-on-11 for most of the second half after defender Jarell Quansah was shown a red card, England found a way to come away victorious in front of a raucous crowd in Mexico City.
Play-by-play announcer Darren Fletcher and color commentator Owen Hargreaves had the English-language duties on the Fox broadcast.
England’s Jude Bellingham delivered two goals just 98 seconds apart to get the scoring started in the first half.
JUDE BELLINGHAM AND ENGLAND GOAL NO. 1 VS MEXICO!
Darren Fletcher with the call for Fox. ⚽️🏴🎙️ #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Xx9lt625id
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 6, 2026
Fletcher: “ENGLAND LEAD! JUDE BELLINGHAM IN THE AZTECA! MEXICO HAVE BEEN THE BETTER TEAM; ENGLAND STRIKE FIRST!”
JUDE BELLINGHAM AND ENGLAND GOAL NO. 2 VS MEXICO!
Darren Fletcher has the Fox play-by-play call. ⚽️🏴💥💥🎙️ #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Aqmrxf8nC5 https://t.co/3wnxvspTRe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 6, 2026
Fletcher: “BELLINGHAM IS THERE AGAIN! AND ENGLAND LEAD TWO-NIL! AND IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, THE GAME’S GETTING AWAY FROM MEXICO!”
But Mexico quickly got back in the game on a goal Julián Quiñones just a few minutes later.
MEXICO IS ON THE BOARD!
Darren Fletcher with the call for Fox. ⚽️🇲🇽🎙️ #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/U4yjwH9JmY
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 6, 2026
Fletcher: “IT’S QUIÑONES! IT’S LIFTOFF IN THE AZTECA! IT’S GAME ON IN THE LAST 16! MEXICO BACK IN IT!”
But, even with being down a man after the Quansah red card, England got a two-goal lead back when Harry Kane made a penalty kick in the second half.
Harry Kane nails the penalty kick to give England a 3-1 lead over Mexico!
Darren Fletcher has the call for Fox. ⚽️🏴🎙️ #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/LvgQyiqbr7
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 6, 2026
Fletcher: “HARRY KANE SCORES! ENGLAND LEADS 3-1! AND THE ENGLAND CAPTAIN SCORES HIS EIGHTY-FIFTH INTERNATIONAL GOAL!”
Not even 10 minutes later, Mexico would go on to make a penalty kick as well when Raúl Jiménez put it home.
“Brilliant penalty! Never in doubt! ICE COOL UNDER PRESSURE! 3-2 IN THE AZTECA! GAME ON AGAIN!”
Darren Fletcher with the Fox call as Raúl Jiménez converts on the penalty for Mexico. ⚽️🇲🇽🎙️ #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/UBcj7wB5An
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 6, 2026
Fletcher: “Brilliant penalty! Never in doubt! ICE COOL UNDER PRESSURE! 3-2 IN THE AZTECA! GAME ON AGAIN!”
Mexico had a few good chances down the stretch, and the final minutes were particularly chaotic.
Fletcher and Hargreaves couldn’t believe the finish.
“What is going on?!” Hargreaves asked as he watched the wild action.
“What is going on?!”
“Chaos at the Azteca!”
“What a game! Absolutely astonishing! I’ve never seen anything like it!”
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing.bsky.social) July 5, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Fletcher: “CHAOS AT THE AZTECA… THE REFEREE BLOWS THE FULL-TIME WHISTLE! AND THE LIONS ROAR IN THE AZTECA! ENGLAND THROUGH TO THE QUARTERFINALS OF THE WORLD CUP! MEXICAN HEARTBREAK! ABSOLUTE JUBILATION FOR ENGLAND! HEROES IN WHITE! HEROES IN GREEN AS WELL! WHAT A BATTLE BETWEEN THESE TWO NATIONS IN THE WORLD CUP, OWEN HARGREAVES!”
Hargreaves: “What a fabulous game of football! Credit to both teams. And they left everything out there. You talk about the conditions and altitude, and the rain, the delay. England were there in the big moments! And they delivered.”
Fletcher: “ENGLAND WERE BOMBARDED! ENGLAND HELD ON! MEXICO OUT! ENGLAND THROUGH! THEY PLAY NORWAY NEXT IN MIAMI! WHAT A GAME! ABSOLUTELY ASTONISHING! I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT!”
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.