Arsenal’s Nigerian-born winger, Bukayo Saka ended up with only average marks on the cards of post-match ratings by many analysts, despite his assist that helped England open scoring in their 3-2 thumping of Mexico.
Sports247 reports that The Three Lions roared into the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s round of 16, after braving all odds, which included facing the gallant hosts with a man short in front of their partisan supporters at one of the earth’s biggest stadiums.
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Thomas Tuchel’s side overcame Mexico’s significant home advantage at high altitude to grab one of their greatest knock-out results ever abd eliminated one of this Mundial’s three co-hosts in a pulsating fixture at Azteca Stadium.
They shrugged off a one-hour kick-off delay and survived the majority of the second half with 10 men, after Jarell Quansah was sent off, as Jude Bellingham’s double and Harry Kane’s penalty made all the difference.
Mexico hadn’t conceded a goal at the tournament until Bellingham struck twice in the space of 98 seconds during the first half to put England in dreamland, silencing the daunting Azteca crowd.
While Julian Quinones pulled one back before half-time from a soft free-kick and Mexico got a penalty of their own just nine minutes after Kane converted his, England held on firmly to win and set up a quarter-finals tie with Norway, who earlier defeated Brazil 2-1.
However, in the midst of all the glitter and glee, many analysts found Saka wanting, with questions still being asked about his fitness level, and sneers suggesting he would have been yanked off later on even if Engalnd had not sufffered a red card setback.
A report by UK’s Sky Sports added, “(Saka was) withdrawn at the 56-minute mark in response to Quansah’s sending off, he wouldn’t have had many more minutes in the tank anyway.
“(He) remained off his usual standards but the flashes of quality he can bring to the game, and why he is so important for England, were clearly exemplified by his cross to Bellingham for the opener.”
