England star cops freak injury amid wild World Cup celebrations

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World Cup daily news. We will bring you the latest from around the world as the FIFA World Cup 2026™ finally gets under way (All times AEST).

HENDERSON INJURED AND STRETCHERED OUT

England player Jordan Henderson was stretchered off after the final whistle in Mexico despite not playing a single minute of the match.

Vision from the Azteca Stadium showed England players celebrating their 3-2 victory with fans.

After singing Wonderwall - which has become an unofficial anthem for the side at this year's World Cup - players are seen jumping back over advertising boards around the pitch but Henderson mis-times his jump and falls flat on his face.

Medica rushed to his side and according to reporters at the ground, Henderson was given oxygen before being stretchered off.

"Jordan (Henderson) just fell over there, I think he's okay, just something to do with his arm," Harry Kane told the BBC.

England coach Thomas Tuchel told ITV: “Not good, not good. Jordan fell over and injured his wrist, it looks really bad.”

"It's a very special night for us. Mixed feelings because I am exhausted and emotional but also sad because Jordan got injured, he injured his wrist and is at the hospital at the moment.

"It's a quite serious injury and it doesn't fit to the evening that Jordan is now not with us. I don't know the procedure, I just did the press and the doctor told me he is in hospital."

Jude Bellingham, who scored two goals for England and made a massive defensive clearance, added: “He’s in a bit of bother, but our medical team have got everything under control. Probably best for me not to say too much. We’re there to support him.”

Incredibly, Henderson also managed to get himself booked during the fiery clash even though he played no on-field role.

In the dying moments of the dramatic clash - which saw Jarell Quansah red carded and two penalties awarded - Henderson was deemed to have interfered with the flow of play and was shown a yellow card by referee Alireza Faghani.

Henderson: one yellow card, stretchered off the field, zero minutes played. Rough.

England break Mexico hoodoo in penalty and red card-filled thriller

England have booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals after a drama-filled, penalty and red card loaded showdown with Mexico at the Azteca Stadium.

For only the second time this century a side other than Mexico has claimed a victory in the cauldron of a stadium where the home side had not been beaten since 2013.

Forty years on from the Hand of God, England have come out winners at the Azteca.

"We needed everything," England coach Thomas Tuchel said of his team. "In the moment we thought we had the momentum. It was a proper mentality.

"This team really means it, when the going gets tough they never give up.

"We need to take this in, it's a crazy, crazy game. We left everything out there. We need to take this in and now it's full steam ahead."

England looked to be in cruise control after Jude Bellingham scored a brace inside 90 seconds just after the half-hour mark, but the advantage was soon halved by Julian Quinones.

The drama continued into the second half with Jarell Quansah shown a red card after a VAR review showed he made a studs up challenge.

England, down to 10-men, looked set to park the bus, but were awarded a penalty in the 60th minute which was slotted away by Harry Kane.

With a 3-1 advantage, all they had to do was defend but no sooner had they cushioned their lead, Kane conceded a spot kick down the other end and Mexico were gifted a way back in.

Raul Jimenez scored from the spot and it was 25 minutes of diehard defending from that point.

Despite Mexico's efforts, England held on.

Speaking after the match, Kane said: "It was a crazy game. We had to fight and we had to find something. I've just been singing, I can't really talk. The occasion, the team, everything against us, we found a way."

Where altitude had been a concern, the players pushed through the pain to set up a last eight showdown with Norway.

"Those players have represented their country in magnificent form tonight," former England captain Alan Shearer said. "Every single player had the right attitude.

"Everything that could have gone against them, everything that was thrown at them, the energy, the altitude, they have got past all of that and they deserved it. That is an incredible performance from start to finish.

"When they were under the cosh the manager made the right substitutions. The subs came on and they did their job. What an incredible night."

England will play Norway in the quarter-finals on Sunday at 7am AEST.

11 minutes of added time.

Kane is off for Rogers. England have 11 minutes left.

FULL TIME: England have done it! Mexico have lost at home for the first time since 2013.

What a match. What a drama.

Wayne Rooney's take on the BBC:

"I don’t know whether it’s a bit too early to go to a back five. We just can’t get out and it’s going to be a hell of an effort now to defend this for 15-20 minutes.

"I think having another midfielder in there would help. If we’re going to make sacrifices and do this then let’s have another defensively-minded midfielder. It’s asking a lot to see this out now."

PENALTY MEXICO!

Harry Kane looks to have conceded a penalty down the other end. HE HAS!

This is drama to a degree I am struggling to cope with.

Jimenez has scored it and my god do I hate stop-start penalties.

This game is ridiculous. It's the hydration break and all due respect to the referee he's losing control of this one. It's a circus.

Joe Hart thinks the ref has been bang on.

"I think the referee has come to the right decision on all three (both penalties and the red card)," he told the BBC.

"I felt every single one, as soon as I saw the replays my heart was in my mouth. Quansah deserved to go, Kane didn't get the ball and Gordon got to the ball first."

Oh to be a fly on the wall and know what Tomas Tuchel said to the group in that break.

PENALTY FOR ENGLAND!

What in the guacamole is happening in Mexico City?! England now have a penalty.

Step up Harry Kane...make that SIR HARRY KANE! He's scored it.

"Cool. Calm. Deadly. Look at the eyes," Shearer said. "Look how focused Kane is. Keeper goes the right way but he has no chance.

We still have 30 minutes to go in this.

RED CARD DRAMA!

England are down to 10 men! VAR referral has Jarell Quansah in a studs up tackle on a Mexico player. There was an all-in brawl on the sidelines and this is a disaster for England.

"I know Quansah gets the ball but the foot is high," Alan Shearer told the BBC. "He's taken the ball with his left knee but he catches the player high with his leading right. It's a nasty, nasty challenge."

Someone call Donald Trump, let's get this overturned.

Images from SBS broadcast

Second half is underway and England have come out the brighter team. Nico O'Reilly has a crack from 30 yards out and he hits the post!

Great energy from the Three Lions.

Stadium looks smokey...assuming maybe some half-time fireworks or flares?

MEXICO PULL ONE BACK

England did not park the bus...England are Englanding this. Three goals in six minutes. Julian Quiñones scores a bomb.

Insanity.

Can't handle this. Jordan Pickford, all is forgiven forever. He is have the game of his life and SO TOO IS BELLINGHAM! He's just cleared off the line to save England.

ENGLAND HAVE SCORED!

Jude Bellingham you beauty!

It all started with Declan Rice into Saka who made the perfect cross, over Kane's head and it's a banging header and Bellingham's third goal of the World Cup. That's the first time

Delirium!

ENGLAND SCORE AGAIN!

Bellingham gets his second inside 90 seconds to double England's lead.

PARK THE BUS!

SHEARER IS HAPPY

"I don't mind this. Good, patient football," he told the BBC. "If England get through the first 20 minutes that's a big part of the job done. If they want to keep the ball like they are doing then that's fine."

He's far calmer than I am. Declan Rice getting yellow carded inside the first two minutes was not ideal.

Pickford has just saved England. Incredible save, what a reaction. What a day for the goalkeepers.

MATCH IS SET TO GO

England and Mexico players are walking out onto the pitch at the Azteca Stadium and we are possed for one of the biggest matches of this World Cup.

A spot in the quarter-finals is on the line.

Can England break the Azteca hoodoo?

* disclaimer this is being written by an England fan, it will be heavily biased *

MEXICO'S MILLION BREACH

Mexico's players have been forced to hand back a million dollars worth of Rolex watches amid fears they would be in breach of FIFA regulations.

US YouTuber Stephen Deleonardis took out a huge bet of $2 million on El Tri to beat Ecuador in the round of 32 so once he had collected his winnings, he gifted the entire team with the time pieces.

The Mexican FA ordered them to return the gift in order to avoid a betting rules breach.

A statement on Twitter said: “By mutual agreement, our players decided to return to the content creator the watches that he had gifted them on his own initiative.”

Mexico take on England for a spot in the quarter-finals this morning but the kick-off has been pushed back by an hour so no action until 11am AEST.

TEAMS

England have made three changes for this clash. Jarell Quansah, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon all start.

England XI: Pickford, Quansah, Guehi, Konsa, O'Reilly, Rice, Anderson, Saka, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane

Mexicos are unchanged from their Ecuador clash.

Mexico XI: Rangel, Gallardo, Vasquez, Montes, Sanchez, Romo, Lira, Mora, Quinones, Jimenez, Alvarado

BRAZIL ARE BROKEN

Cometh the hour, cometh the legend. Erling Haaland has just scored what could be two of the most important goals of his career.

He's barely had an opportunity all match and now, with 10 minutes to go, he may have just secured his side a spot in the quarter-finals!

It's a stunning header off an absolute peach of a cross. Brazil now staring down the barrel of their earliest exit in over 20 years.

Then with only three minutes left he doubles the lead, nutmegs the Brazilian defender and bang into the bottom left corner.

This is Brazil's worst World Cup result since 1990.

Unbelievable. We have three players at this World Cup on seven goals now; Haaland, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

LATE DRAMA - Brazil are awarded a penalty and Neymar steps up and SCORES!

Full-time. Norway have broken new ground, this is their greatest World Cup. They are into the quarter-finals for the first time ever and the five-time champions are heading home.

That was an incredible match.

NEYMAR RETIRES

In tears after the final whistle, Brazil's 2-1 defeat to Norway will be the last time Neymar represents his country.

The 34-year-old, who kicked a penalty in the dying moments of the game, confirmed the news after the match.

“I tried. I tried," he said. "It started here at Met Life stadium and I finished here. It is now over.”

GLOBAL OUTRAGE

This is incredible. FIFA have confirmed they will suspend Folarin Balogun's suspension after the USA star picked up a red card against Bosnia in the round of 32.

Belgium - the USA's opponent in the last 16 tomorrow (AEST) - have slammed the decision and said they will be investigating all options.

Belgium's head coach Rudi Garcia was dumfounded.

“I didn’t know that at the World Cup the 5th of July is actually the first of April. It’s April Fools.”

“The Belgian federation isn’t just defending itself or the national team; it’s defending football in general — its integrity and its ethics.

"As far as I recall, I think this is the first time in World Cup history that a decision like this has been made."

Meanwhile, the Belgium FA released a statement.

“The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA’s decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. (Seattle time).

“FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction.

“However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team’s next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup.

“Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5: “If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team’s subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.”

“The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026.

“The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations.

“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.”

Donald Trump has even extended his thanks to FIFA for “reversing a great injustice”.

According to TalkSport in the UK, it was a call from the Trump administration to FIFA that set the motion for the ban to be suspended.

USA coach Mauricio Pochettino said it was the right decision (of course he did) but he had no involvement in the u-turn.

“We were punished enough against Bosnia to play with 10 men for 30 minutes, in a decision that was unfair.

"It’s not because I’m the head coach of the USA… I think 99.9% of people agree it was an unfair red card.

"I found out today before training.”

INCREDIBLE SAVES

Nyland is making some of the biggest saves in his career! Brazil are peppering him and from point blank range on more than four occasions now, he is saving Norway.

Game of his life!

Endrick - who was on the pitch for 52 seconds - has just missed an absolute sitter of an opportunity. Just one touch too many before he had a strike.

RONALDO RETIREMENT

Incredible timing on this one. Doing media for Portugal ahead of their last 16 showdown against Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed this will be his final World Cup.

“Yes, it’s my last one. Let go and enjoy it," he said.

“I will retire when I want, not when you want.

“Whether I play or I stay on the bench, the influence will not change.

“People question me starting at 41? It’s been 23 years with people trying to kill me…

“But they know now they’re wasting their time. They try, try, try… but it’s not worth it. I am used to that.”

Asked about the negative narrative surrounding him always wanting to score, he added: “If I can’t score, it will be another teammate to score and we hope to go to the next round. The mission is to advance, not for me to score.”

STANDING TALL

Nyland is having an absolute blinder in goal for Norway, Brazil could be two or three up by now. Huge display from the Sevilla stopper.

PENALTY?

The referee said no but we are going to VAR to check and to me think is a clear cut spot kick. PENALTY!

Ørjan Nyland is the hero of his nation, HE SAVED IT! It was Bruno Guimaraes with the kick. We're only 12 minutes in and this game has had so much drama already!

NORWAY GOAL DISALLOWED

Just minutes into this clash, Norway, against all the odds think they have taken the lead but the flag is up! Brazil lives to fight another day but that will (you would hope) be a wake up call. It was sloppy defence for that to find the back of the net.

Early drama!