Mexico win best night of my England career – Jude Bellingham

The Real Madrid star scored twice as England booked their place in the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals despite finishing the contest with 10 men after Jarell Quansah's second-half red card following a VAR review.

Reflecting on the thrilling encounter, Bellingham praised his teammates' resilience in overcoming both the hostile atmosphere and Mexico's spirited challenge to keep England's World Cup dream alive.

"Never been prouder of a group of lads, a squad - a whole nation. I was saying at some of the interviews that it was a country's performance. It felt like everything I saw this week was the country behind us. All we talked about this week was how difficult it is going to be in an unbelievable atmosphere against a very good team, so to get this win is the best night of my England career so far," said Bellingham.

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Despite the memorable win, Bellingham still did not yet make up for Argentina winning a World Cup tie in 1986 at the same venue to eliminate England from the tournament then. 

"Ah, they won it, didn't they? I think we are still a few games away from righting that wrong. But the focus has got to be on the next game. We've done something incredible tonight; there's no doubt about it. We will enjoy it and sing songs until we lose our voices on the plane. We will have a couple of days for recovery, and then it's straight back to business in terms of facing Norway."

Bellingham also had a message to England supporters that stayed up until the early hours of the morning watching the side get over the line.

"I would say text your bosses and tell them you're not coming in, simple as that. I've been an England fan since I was 7 years old. I remember the 2010 World Cup; it was my first one. Obviously, in recent times, we've had better moments, but I remember watching a few tournaments and some of the players who are now on TV talking a lot, you know, they struggled on these kinds of nights. It was tough because the country didn ' t feel like we were behind them, as there wasn't much reason to."

"And to be part of an England team that gives so much to a country that can give them these moments and nights like this, I can imagine there's going to be videos galore when I get into the changing room and check my phone. Kids stay out of school, parents don't go to work; enjoy the day, be with your friends, and enjoy it because these nights don't come around often."

The 23-year-old added that beating Mexico has given them further belief England can go all the way and win the trophy.