FIFA World Cup 2026: “Just wow” Captain Harry Kane reacts after Engla…

Mexico City [Mexico], July 6 (ANI): England captain Harry Kane shared a post on social media after the Three Lions defeated co-hosts Mexico 3-2 in a thrilling FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash to secure a place in the quarterfinals.

Kane posted on X shortly after the final whistle to celebrate England’s hard-fought victory. chickenroad.qpon

“Wow. Just wow," the England skipper wrote on X.

https://x.com/HKane/status/2073990730435952847?s=20

Earlier, Three Lions’ X handle wrote “Iconic" after Kane and Jude Bellingham showcased their class in their side’s 3-2 win over the co-hosts.

https://x.com/England/status/2073948134388986021?s=20

Kane played a key role in England’s thrilling 3-2 victory over co-hosts Mexico, converting a second-half penalty after Anthony Gordon was fouled inside the box. The goal was Kane’s sixth of the tournament and helped England secure a place in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Bellingham became the youngest player to make 10 FIFA World Cup appearances, surpassing the previous record held by Argentina’s Mario Kempes, who was 23 years and 334 days against Poland in 1978. Bellingham was also named the Player of the Match.

England have secured a place in the World Cup quarterfinals for the 11th time, with only Brazil (15) and Germany (14) having reached the last eight more often in the tournament’s history, according to The Athletic.

Captain Harry Kane has once again been central to England’s campaign. His six-goal haul marks only the third instance of an England player scoring six goals at a major international tournament, matching his achievement at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and following Gary Lineker’s six-goal campaign in 1986. Kane has also become the outright record-holder for the most World Cup penalty goals in regulation time, with six, two more than any other player, according to The Athletic.

Bukayo Saka also reached a notable milestone, becoming only the third England player since 1966 to register three assists in a single FIFA World Cup, joining David Beckham (2002) and Harry Kane (2022).

Kane continued his remarkable form against Mexico, registering a goal and an assist to take his tally to 81 goal involvements in 63 appearances for club and country across all competitions during the 2025-26 season (73 goals and eight assists).

According to OptaJoe’s X handle, Kane also became the first player on record since 1966 to both score a penalty and concede a penalty in the same FIFA World Cup match. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Pacer Gurnoor Brar made a strong case for a Test debut in Sri Lanka next month with a match haul of 10 wickets in India A's resounding win in the second and final unofficial Test here on Sunday. Courtesy Sai Sudharsan's 168, India A put up a daunting first innings total of 543, giving them a 177-run lead over Sri Lanka A.

The game moved fast on the fourth and concluding day with Brar running through the Sri Lanka A batting unit with a six-wicket haul in the second innings, following his four wickets in the first innings. The other contender for a spot in the Test team for the two-match series against Sri Lanka from August, Aquib Nabi, paled in Brar's comparison.

The Punjab pacer had impressed on his India debut in the ODI series against Afghanistan last month. Brar was part of the Test squad too but did not make his debut in the traditional format. With Sri Lanka A bundled out for 209 in the second innings, India A had only 33 to chase.

Sudharsan and Aman Mokhade did that in 6.2 overs as India A completed a comfortable 10-wicket win following a draw in the series opener. India had resumed the day at 541 for eight. Barring Ashen Bandara's 87, none of the home team's batters could make a significant contribution.

It was a successful tour for India A who had also won the preceding tri-series in Dambulla. With the first Test against Sri Lanka scheduled at the Galle International Stadium on August 15, Test regulars like Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel got ideal game time. The second Test will be played at the SSC in Colombo from August 23.

Brief scores:
Sri Lanka A: 366 all out and 209 all out 48.3 overs (Ashen Bandara 87; Gurnoor Brar 6/68) lost to India A: 543/9 in 143.3 overs (Sai Sudharsan 168, Devdutt Padikkal 94, Dhruv Jurel 53) and 36/0 in 6.2 overs by 10 wickets.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Mexico vs England FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16: Two minutes of blitz by England’s Jude Bellingham followed by Harry Kane’s penalty conversion were enough for the ‘Three Lions’ to hand hosts Mexico their first-ever World Cup loss at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match on Sunday. England managed to edge past Mexico 3-2 as the co-hosts lost their first World Cup game at Azteca after going unbeaten in 10 matches – 8 wins and 2 draws.

Bellingham, who was named the ‘Player of the Match’ also became the first player in 40 years to score two goals at the Azteca after Argentina legend Diego Maradona – who had scored twice in the 1986 World Cup semifinal vs Belgium. Bellingham became the youngest player to make 10 World Cup appearances, surpassing the previous record held by Argentina’s Mario Kempes, who was 23 years and 334 days against Poland in 1978.

WATCH Jude Bellingham score twice in 2 minutes vs Mexico HERE…

2 GOALS IN 2 MINS BY JUDE BELLINGHAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!pic.twitter.com/wD6UkyvkF7

— Kanishk (@jeene2yarr) July 6, 2026

England buried the memories of Maradona’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal at the same venue in the 1986 World Cup clash vs Argentina. “I am just proud of the mentality and the attitude … round of 16 it is a moment in tournaments when you find a way to win and we did it with pure mentality and heart. We overcame every obstacle that was thrown our way,” England coach Thomas Tuchel was quoted as saying by AP news agency.

Bellingham scored twice in gap of 98 seconds in the first half. And six minutes later Jarell Quansah was sent off, but captain Kane converted a penalty to restore England’s two-goal lead. England have secured a place in the World Cup quarterfinals for the 11th time, with only Brazil (15) and Germany (14) having reached the last eight more often in the tournament’s history.

Kane’s England will now go up against Erling Haaland’s Norway, who defeated Brazil 2-1, in a last eight clash at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday.

“It was a crazy game. We had to fight. I can’t really talk, but the occasion, the team, everything against us, we found a way,” Kane said with a hoarse voice after the match.

Bellingham stunned the Azteca crowd of 80,824, where Mexico won three games in the World Cup 2026 before the pre-quarters, when he scored on a header in the 36th minute and again in the 38th on a pass from Kane.

“We’ve done something incredible tonight, no doubt about it, and we’ll enjoy it. And we’ll sing songs until we lose our voices on the plane and whatnot, but we’ll have a couple of days recovering, then it’s straight back to business in terms of facing Norway,” Bellingham said.

Julian Quinones scored for El Tri in the 42nd minute, and the game was set for a turnaround when Quansah was shown a red card in the 54th for a dangerous foul on Jesus Gallardo.

Kane committed a foul after converting his penalty that made him the first player since 1966 to score and concede a penalty in a World Cup game. Raul Jimenez converted the kick with a stutter-step approach to move El Tri to within touch distance at 3-2.

Mexico attacked relentlessly over the final 21 minutes, plus 11 minutes of stoppage time, but goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and England’s defenders held on to their lead.

Mexico have not reached the World Cup quarterfinals since hosting in 1986. Since then, they have lost in the round of 16 eight times, failed to advance past the group stage in 2022 and were disqualified from the 1990 tournament. It was Mexico’s third loss at Azteca, which was inaugurated in 1966, after a pair of 2-1 defeats in World Cup qualifiers, to Costa Rica in 2001 and to Honduras in 2013.

New York [US], July 6 (ANI): Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team would use its FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 exit as motivation for the future after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Norway in New Jersey, according to ESPN.

The five-time world champions were knocked out after Erling Haaland scored twice late in the match to send Norway into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in the nation’s history.

Reflecting on the defeat, Ancelotti said the team would continue working to improve despite the disappointment.

“What I say is that we continue to do our jobs and look for new ideas," Ancelotti said after the match, as quoted by ESPN.

“It’s the same thing we did this year. It is an experience on my side; it is a very disappointing result and all of us are really saddened. But this was a great group and I have to thank my players; they worked really hard. I don’t think we deserved to lose, but we have to accept it," he added.

The Brazilian coach acknowledged the emotional impact of the defeat but stressed that the team must respond positively.

“That is football for you, that is sports. Sometimes you have to manage the sadness and bitter taste of a defeat. I am very used to that, but we are going to take this defeat and use it as fuel for the new cycle," Ancelotti said, as quoted by ESPN.

“Everyone is profoundly sad, as the fans are. This is normal to have those feelings, but what we have to do is react correctly," he added.

Ancelotti said a crucial element of Brazil’s rebuild will be finding new players in midfield, with Neymar saying he will retire from international competition after the elimination and the likes of Casemiro and Fabinho expected to follow him.

“We have to think about the future, but it is very evident that in the midfield, I think that we have to move some players," he said. We need some young talent; we need some high-level players coming into Brazilian football. This national team has a very solid group, great players that continue and some new players that can come in."

On a missed penalty by Bruno Guimaraes in the first half, Ancelotti said “statistics" showed the Newcastle midfielder to be the best option to take the spot-kick. “

We did statistics for the players and according to that, Raphinha was the best option [as penalty taker]," Ancelotti said. The best person would be Raphinha and then Neymar, and after that, Bruno Guimaraes. After Bruno, it would be Martinelli, so we chose Bruno Guimaraes as we felt he would be the best." (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

US President Donald Trump intervened on behalf of American star forward Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allows him to play in a World Cup match against Belgium on Monday.

Balogun, the American leader with three goals in the tournament, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wednesday, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.

FIFA announced on Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup did not result in a suspension.

Trump called FIFA president Gianni Infantino after the game asking FIFA review the red card, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump said in a statement on social media.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) said it was “astonished,” and Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked FIFA’s action.

“I didn’t know that in the offices of FIFA the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe,” Garcia said through a translator in an April Fools’ Day comparison. “The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general, she defends her integrity, her ethics. I think it’s the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is this kind of decision.” Garcia wouldn’t respond when asked about a possible appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport or whether he thought Trump impacted FIFA’s action.

“In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options,” the Belgian federation said in a statement.

American players learned of Balogun’s availability when social media posts started popping up during the 10-minute bus ride Sunday morning from their hotel to training at the University of Washington’s Husky Soccer Stadium, where they were greeted by Dubs II, the university’s Alaskan Malamute.

Balogun’s red card had been one of the World Cup’s most controversial and consequential decisions. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus didn’t initially signal a card but showed Balogun red after a video review.

“If you look at the foul, it was just zero intent at all,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. “I felt like there was much worse ones that went on this tournament.” The US Soccer Federation learned of FIFA’s action in a message sent by FIFA in its portal at 10:31 a.m. EDT.

“The implementation of the match suspension is suspended for a probationary period of one year,” FIFA announced. “If Folarin Balogun commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension shall be revoked and the sanction enforced without prejudice to any additional sanction imposed for the new infringement.”

US coach Mauricio Pochettino applauded FIFA’s move.

“We were punished enough against Bosnia-Herzegovina to play with 10 men (for) 30 minutes in a decision that was completely unfair,” he said.

Pochettino, who played for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup, was not surprised Trump decided to call Infantino.

“I came from a culture, Argentina or Europe, that football, soccer is a religion, more than the religion,” he said. “If we go keep going, pushing on, maybe one step more tomorrow you will see that the sport is magic, that the sport is amazing, is so powerful, unite people, unite a country like us.”

Balogun’s three goals included a go-ahead strike against Bosnia. He matched Landon Donovan in 2010 for the second-most goals by an American in a World Cup, behind only Bert Patenaude’s four in the initial tournament in 1930.

A 25-year-old who plays for Monaco, Balogun scored 13 Ligue 1 goals last season and has 12 goals in 30 international appearances. He was born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents who were living in London and in 2023 opted to change his national team affiliation from England, which he had represented at the under-21 level.

“He strikes fear into a lot of defenders,” Richards said.

The host U.S. is seeking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. The Americans lost in the round of 16 to Ghana in 2010, Belgium in 2014 and the Netherlands in 2022. They failed to advance from the group stage in 2006 and didn’t qualify for the 2018 tournament.

The USSF did not make Balogun available for comment Sunday, but Balogun posted on social media a picture of himself in front of U.S. fans and overlaid with music of Michael Jackson’s pop single “Bad.”

On Friday, Balogun said he thought a yellow card instead of red “would have been fair.”

FIFA said its decision relied on Article 27 of disciplinary committee rules.

“The judicial body may decide to fully or partially suspend the implementation of a disciplinary measure,” the rule states. “By suspending the implementation of the sanction, the judicial body subjects the person sanctioned to a probationary period of one to four years.” “What about the next red card? What happens then?” Norway coach Stale Solbakken said. “Is there going to be some committee somewhere that is going to take that card away? It’s a bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decision that will hurt the World Cup.”