England now know exactly which teams stand in their way to reach the World Cup final on July 19th. Thomas Tuchel’s side advanced to the quarter-finals with a win over Mexico in the early hours of Monday morning, but were well aware that they had a tough task ahead of them.
The Three Lions battled through intense thunderstorms and difficult altitude conditions to defeat Mexico 3-2 in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca in a spectacular performance. Despite Jarrell Quansah receiving a red card and Harry Kane conceding a penalty, England held on to secure a place in the last eight.
There they will face Erling Haaland and Norway, who have already upended the tournament. The Scandinavian team defeated Brazil 2-1, with Haaland scoring two goals, clinching a place in the quarter-finals.
Had Egypt advanced, the winner of this draw could have been awarded what many considered to be a favorable draw on paper. That looked increasingly likely after Egypt led 2-0 into the final stages of Monday night’s match, raising England’s hopes of avoiding Lionel Messi’s Argentina side.
But the South American team had completely different ideas and staged a breathtaking 17-minute comeback to defeat their African opponents 3-2. Egypt looked poised to pull off one of the most memorable upsets in recent memory, with Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico giving them an incredible advantage with two goals.
Argentina were trailing until the 79th minute, but Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi, and Enzo Fernandes all scored goals to make a spectacular turnaround and advance to the next round.
England would have welcomed Egypt’s victory. That’s because it means avoiding Messi, who has scored eight goals in this tournament and is in top form.
They were originally expected to face Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Spain on their way to the final, but a combination of Norway’s victory and an unexpected Egyptian win would have presented a fairly smooth route on paper.
Norway is not a team to be taken lightly, as they proved their ability by defeating five-time champions Brazil. Once the whistle blows, condition and standings mean nothing. Similarly, Argentina must negotiate a draw against Switzerland on Sunday if they are to advance to the last four.
Switzerland went scoreless for 120 minutes against Colombia, before the game went into extra time and eventually went to penalties. Former Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji missed his spot-kick, while Davinson Sanchez and Cucho Hernandez missed from 12 yards out in the shoot-out, giving Switzerland a 4-3 victory.
