England’s memorable 3-2 victory against World Cup 2026 co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca Stadium will go down in the nation’s folklore.
Thomas Tuchel’s men dealt perfectly with the altitude and raucous crowd inside the iconic ground, as well as bouncing back brilliantly from Jarell Quansah’s second-half red card.
A brace from Jude Bellingham and a well-taken Harry Kane penalty sealed the Round-of-16 win which will be spoken about for decades to come.
Prior to the result, Mexico had lost just two of 89 games at the Azteca, further highlighting the size of England’s achievement.
So, with the drama witnessed on the Mexico City turf still fresh in the mind, NetBet Sport has taken a look at some of the Three Lions’ other memorable results on the World Cup stage.
England 4-2 *aet West Germany (1966 final)
The only place to start really. England’s sole World Cup triumph came on home soil in 1966, with Sir Alf Ramsey’s men beating old foes West Germany 4-2 in an epic Wembley finale. Geoff Hurst scored a hat-trick, though one of the goals – his second to be exact – is still debated to this very day. Was it over the line? We may never know due to the absence of goal-line technology, but the referee and linesman declared that it was. Hurst secured his hat-trick in the final minute of extra-time, prompting BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme to deliver the iconic line: “They think it’s all over, it is now!”
England 3-2 *aet Cameroon (1990 quarter-final)
England’s path to the semi-finals appeared to be clear when they were drawn against Cameroon at Italia ‘90, but the African side terrified Sir Bobby Robson and his men. David Platt opened the scoring for the Three Lions and all appeared to be going to plan, until a second-half onslaught from Cameroon. Quickfire goals from Emmanuel Kunde and Eugene Ekeke left England staring down the barrel of elimination, only for Gary Lineker to save the day from the penalty spot. The legendary striker equalised from 12 yards in the 84th minute, before converting from the same position in extra-time and securing a nail-biting 3-2 triumph.
England 1-0 Argentina (2002 group stage)
After painful losses to Argentina at the 1986 and 1998 World Cups, England were out for revenge in the 2002 group stage. And for a change, the Three Lions got the better of their South American rivals. David Beckham scored from the penalty spot just before half-time after Mauricio Pochettino had upended Michael Owen in the box. Argentina came out all guns blazing in the second period, but England’s defence stood firm and helped the team emerge from that tournament’s ‘Group of Death’.
England 1-1 Colombia, 4-3 on penalties (2018 Round of 16)
The day England finally ended years and years of heartbreak in penalty shootouts. Yerry Mina’s 93rd-minute goal cancelled out Kane’s opener from the spot, with neither nation able to make the breakthrough in extra-time. So it went to the lottery of a shootout, and when Jordan Henderson missed from 12 yards, the phrase ‘here we go again’ went through the head of every single England fan. But Mateus Uribe’s effort crashed off the crossbar, before Jordan Pickford’s incredible save to deny Carlos Bacca. It presented Eric Dier with the chance to send the Three Lions through, which he took – just! The images of the team and Gareth Southgate passionately celebrating the tense win are firmly etched into English footballing history.
England 2-0 Sweden (2018 quarter-final)
After beating Colombia, England were given a great opportunity to reach a first semi-final since 1990. And after years of failure on the World Cup stage, Southgate’s squad grabbed the chance with both hands and delivered a pretty clinical performance vs a decent Sweden side. Harry Maguire opened the scoring, before Dele Alli’s second-half goal had supporters dreaming of glory in Russia. Of course, Croatia made sure the journey ended in heartbreak, but the victory over Sweden appeared to herald in a new era for the England national team.
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