Over 21 million English-speaking Americans watched England beat Mexico 3-2 last Sunday — the largest English-language World Cup broadcast in U.S. history not involving the USMNT. That's not a quirk of scheduling. England are genuinely capturing people right now, and for good reason.
Thomas Tuchel's side are through to the quarterfinals, playing with grit, tactical flexibility and two players capable of deciding any game on the planet. For a nation that hasn't won a men's major tournament since 1966, this feels different. Whether it actually is — that's the question England fans have tortured themselves with for six decades.
Why the Mexico win mattered
England played 40-plus minutes with ten men after Jarell Quansah's red card. They had 28% possession in the second half. Mexico launched 13 shots at their goal. England held on.
That's the kind of performance that sticks. Not because it was pretty — it wasn't — but because the character required to survive that at a World Cup, at 2am back home, with Oasis blasting in pubs across the country, is exactly what previous England generations were accused of lacking. The Premier League hosts 154 players at this tournament, more than any other league, yet England have historically underperformed that depth for years. Against Mexico, the gap between talent and output finally started closing.
It also secured England's third consecutive men's World Cup quarterfinal — a run of consistency that tends to get underplayed against the backdrop of 60 years without a trophy.
Kane and Bellingham: the partnership that actually works
Harry Kane has six goals at this tournament. Five of them have directly decided results. The 32-year-old Bayern Munich striker sits behind only Mbappe and Messi in the Golden Boot race, and last season he outscored both of them in European club football — 36 goals, more than Haaland and Mbappe. He doesn't generate the same noise. He just scores.
Then there's Jude Bellingham. Debuted for England at 17, signed for Real Madrid at 19, now 23 and in his fourth tournament. His 95th-minute bicycle-kick equaliser against Slovakia at Euro 2024 — when England were heading out embarrassingly — is the defining image of this era. Kane scored the winner in extra time. That's the partnership: one provides the moment of genius, the other buries the chance. Any defense facing both of them simultaneously has a serious problem, and England's quarterfinal odds reflect exactly that.
Jordan Pickford made three fine saves against Mexico and is now appearing at his sixth consecutive tournament — 89 caps and counting for the Everton goalkeeper. Elliot Anderson, who completed a £116 million move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City mid-tournament, gives Tuchel's midfield control and energy that doesn't get enough credit. And Dan Burn — 6ft 7in, 34 years old, came on as a substitute after the 75th minute against Mexico and made six headed clearances. Six. The nation loved him instantly.
A German coaching England, and why it made sense
Tuchel is only the third non-Englishman to manage the national team, after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. The irony of his nationality isn't lost on anyone — Germany knocked England out of four tournaments after 1966, and England beat West Germany in that famous final. History is awkward.
But Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and his CV is legitimate at the highest level. The Football Association decided the best available coach mattered more than his passport. Given where England are now — quarterfinals, two elite forwards in form, a squad with genuine depth — it's difficult to argue with that call.
Assistant coach Anthony Barry deserves a mention too. His half-time idea to shift Declan Rice from midfield into defense against DR Congo changed the game, with England coming from behind to win 2-1 through two late Kane goals. The tactical flexibility this staff has shown is new for England. It's part of why this run feels credible rather than fortunate.
The road from here: Norway in the quarterfinal today, a potential semifinal against Messi's Argentina on Wednesday, and possibly Mbappe's France or Spain — the team that beat England in the Euro 2024 final — in the final on July 19. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has floated a national holiday if they lift the trophy. England have had no better chance since that afternoon in 1966. Whether that's comforting or terrifying probably depends on how long you've been watching.
