England delivered one of their greatest World Cup performances in one of the fabled tournament’s greatest games. The 8,000 England fans who trekked to the Azteca, making light of the cost and the rain, were rewarded. The millions who stayed up at home, deep into the night, had their loyalty repaid. Nobody was going to fall asleep in drama like this on the night that the Wonderwall that was England’s defence made the Azteca’s wall of noise fall silent.
This was the night when England lived up to their supporters’ beliefs. They showed their attacking class with Jude Bellingham immense. They then displayed their defensive defiance when Jarell Quansah was dismissed. It was a performance of guts that brought glory and a quarter-final against Norway in Miami on Saturday.
