England’s heroics in Mexico City were everything they needed all at once

England travelled to Mexico City with as many questions as answers. Their progress to the round of 16 had been just a little nervier and a little less confident than most of their supporters would have liked. They were jittery at the back and less than convincing up front. They didn’t look like a team that had absolute conviction in their own chances of victory.

The Three Lions looked like they needed to dig out a big performance not just to progress, but to instil the kind of bloody-minded self-belief that’s a feature of almost every team that wins a major international tournament. Champions usually carry themselves as such before they get over the line, and England didn’t have that strut to them. Now they have precisely the win that they needed.

Why England’s win against Mexico was precisely what the Three Lions needed

England might just take to the pitch with a little more swagger in their step after their 3-2 victory in the Estadio Azteca - and in particular, their defence should be able to face down Norway with more confidence and clarity than we’d seen before the weekend.

Against Croatia in the opening match, the back line looked vulnerable to pressure on the ball – but against Mexico, they handled it with composure. Against Ghana, Panama and the Democratic Republic of Congo, they looked unsteady and uncertain against the counter-attack – against Mexico, they were in the right place at the right time, time and time again.

Prior to the Mexico match, the first images that came to mind when thinking about England’s defence were most likely the uncalled penalty they got away with against Ghana, or the ball squeezing inside Jordan Pickford’s near post against DR Congo. Now it will be Pickford’s sharp saves from Raúl Jiménez or Dan Burn launching himself into the path of Álvaro Fidalgo’s late effort. It could completely change the way that England’s defenders think about themselves.

It was certainly a performance which Pickford desperately needed. He’s always had the occasional wobble in him, granted, but it was highly unusual for him to look so indecisive over the course of several games in a row – two of the first three goals which England conceded could and should have been saved.

This was the ultimate nerve-settler, a game which started with a fine low save to turn Jiménez’s header around the post and ended with a lengthy series of crosses being punched away from danger in commanding fashion. Pickford was outstanding when his country needed him most.

Now, England’s defence know that they can handle the high press and weather a lengthy siege of their goal. They know that they can stand firm under a barrage, make the right decisions in key moments, and that they can trust their goalkeeper. That seemingly absent self-belief should now show up in spades.

It wasn’t perfect, of course. Jarell Quansah may be inexperienced but should have known better than to lunge into the type of tackle which has been too risky for years. Ezri Konsa’s poor clearance led to Mexico’s first goal just before half-time. Harry Kane gave away a penalty which might have required an eyeball-rolling intervention from VAR, but which was also probably awarded correctly.

But Quansah played very well prior to the red card, Konsa kept his head and dealt with everything thrown at him in the second half, and Kane’s defensive decisions won’t be a concern to anyone in the England dressing room. Meanwhile, players like Djed Spence - who had struggled for their best form since the start of the tournament - put in the kind of shifts which win matches. For every mistake, there were a dozen moments of excellence. Wobbles were replaced by focus and resolve.

England’s ‘heroics’ came at the perfect time

Perhaps such an excitable reading of England’s performance comes across as a little giddy – it was only the round of 16, after all, and England will face stronger sides than Mexico – but head coach Thomas Tuchel seems happy to have been swept up in the moment too.

“It feels like we won a final or something,” Tuchel told the press in the aftermath of England’s victory. “[It was] a heroic performance and a heroic result… If a team has heart and belief then it’s this team. They did it on pure will.”

Those less keen to see England succeed may find it amusing that merely making the quarter-finals can be self-described as ‘heroic’ and they may have a point, but given the conditions, the hostile atmosphere, the much-feared altitude and the quality of an opposition who hadn’t so much as conceded a goal before Bellingham scored the opener, a little bit of hyperbole doesn’t seem so unreasonable. If you’re going to get carried away, allow it to carry you in the direction of self-belief. And perhaps do it at a World Cup, where the prize is immortality.

This feels like a reasonable time to offer a little license for overexcitement, anyway. England are into the quarter-finals and have overcome an extremely significant challenge through sheer brute force of will. The defence, the big concern, was outstanding, while Jude Bellingham’s imperious performance served as a useful reminder that England have two world-class match-winners in their side, not just one. Remember when there were people arguing that he shouldn’t start for England? Never listen to those people again.

England’s win at the Azteca didn’t just set up a quarter-final against Norway but also provided cause for confidence across every area which was a source of worry before kick-off. Whether it was truly heroic or not, it was both historic and, in many ways, the perfect win for England.

Monday morning’s match was a complete confidence boost at precisely the time it was needed most, right before England face down Erling Haaland and a team who always find ways to get their on-song striker on the scoresheet. Self-belief won’t just be useful in Miami, it will be a necessity - and now England have proof of concept for just about everything they’ve been working on