World Cup 2026: England haters will have to switch sombreros for Viking helmets

We would like to tell you that it was worth skipping England’s game against Mexico, but sorry to say, it was a cracker. A weather-enforced hour delay separated the hardcores from the casuals with a 2am start, and the late-night lunatics were rewarded with a thrilling first half that was mostly all Mexico, but England scored two goals in a minute through the outstanding Jude Bellingham.

The Real Madrid midfielder proved he could perform both sides of the game too with a stunning goal-saving clearance from Cesar Montes to deny Mexico, as Jordan Pickford was also having the game of his life at the Azteca, even if he conceded one to Julian Quinones.

It wouldn’t be an English World Cup knockout classic without an inexplicably rash red card – step up Jarell Quansah for a high-studded challenge after 54 minutes. Ten-man England were 3-1 up within moments thanks to a Harry Kane penalty, but 10 minutes later Kane gave away a penalty himself for Raul Jimenez to score.

Then the rearguard defence: big Dan Burn and Djed Spence came on to see it out and they just about did. Mexico were left ruing missed chances and defensive errors. England had conquered the altitude, although the match being played in a rainy 18 degrees did not do any harm.

The England-hater brigade will have to move from sombreros to Viking helmets after Norway beat Brazil 2-1 in the earlier game.

Norway’s greatest triumph came thanks to their greatest star, Erling Haaland, who scored two classic striker’s goals. He enjoyed the extra satisfaction of leaping past familiar Arsenal rival Gabriel Magalhaes to score his opener with a powerful header, and the second was a superb low shot into the corner from outside the box. With Haaland, anything is possible, writes Ken Early.

Before that, Brazil should have been ahead. Bruno Guimaraes stuttered before stroking his penalty into the excellent Orjan Nyland’s hands, while Endrick missed a gilt-edged chance after being put through on goal by the impressive Vinicius Jnr.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti, always the romantic, threw on Neymar in the 68th minute with the game at 0-0, a player described by Early on America 2026 as “fat Elvis”. Fittingly, his first two involvements were a clumsy dribble and a long ball over everyone’s head. He did take a much better penalty than Guimaraes’s one earlier, but it was a last-minute consolation after the damage had been done by Haaland. The Brazilian’s taunting of Nyland after scoring seemed redundant.

Neymar’s World Cup script will remain tragedy – a horrible injury in 2014 to miss the semi-final, the brilliant goal against Croatia in 2022 only for his team-mates to concede and lose on penalties, and finally the tragicomedy of 2026. His tears followed the full-time whistle as Brazil were stunned, the sixth time in a row they have been knocked out by European opposition.

Results:

Round of 16 – Brazil 1 (Neymar 90+10) Norway 2 (Haaland 79, 90)

Round of 16 – Mexico 2 (Quinones 42, Jimenez 69) England 3 (Bellingham 36, 38, Kane 60)

Goal of the day: Haaland’s second goal was hit hard, precisely in the corner and almost impossible to stop, even for a keeper of Alisson’s quality. With seven goals in just four games, he joins Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé at that mark. We’ve never seen a Golden Boot race like this.

Moment of the day:

He bangs the drums. An emotional Haaland is brought up by his captain Martin Odegaard to take part in Norway’s post-match ritual. A bit of grandstanding, then the usual Viking row rhythm and shouts of “Ro!” from the Norwegian fans, who have made a lasting impression on this World Cup.

Picture of the day: The agony and the ecstasy of tournament football is captured as England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford celebrates at full-time while Mexico are in despair as their World Cup comes to an end.

Question of the day: When was the last time Brazil failed to make the quarter-finals of the World Cup?

Coming up today:

Round of 16 – Portugal v Spain (9pm Irish time, RTÉ2 & BBC One)

Round of 16 – USA v Belgium (1am, RTÉ2 & BBC One)

Elsewhere in sport: Cork hurling fans know very much how Brazil feel, it’s been more than 20 years now since either giant won their Holy Grail, and Nicky English points out how Cork’s shortcomings were laid bare in their All-Ireland semi-final defeat to Galway. Things got frosty in the RTÉ studio too between Dónal Óg Cusack and Joe Canning after the game, with Óg Cusack’s side missing the chance to play Limerick in the final.

Limerick had their own wobbles against a resurgent Clare, but bravely came back to sneak past the Banner, with Limerick’s Aidan O’Connor the hero after scoring a late goal. Clare’s exit means it is sadly the end for Shane O’Donnell, and Denis Walsh pays tribute.

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