Matt Maher: England and Jude Bellingham flip the script to leave a nation believing

The list of great England World Cup performances which resulted in victory is even shorter.

For that reason and more Sunday night - or Monday morning for most of us - felt like a watershed moment, a rare case of heroic failure substituted for glorious triumph.

Those who remember Saint-Etienne 1998 or Gelsenkirchen 2006 were probably resigned to Azteca 2026 being added to the annals of England agony when Jarrel Quansah was sent-off early in the second half.

We all know what was supposed to come next.

This time, however, was different. England refused to be bowed by the atmosphere, the altitude or the spirit of their hosts, emerging victorious thanks to a display full of quality, guts, heart and chaos.

In the middle of it all was a 23-year-old lad from Stourbridge.

When the story of Jude Bellingham’s career is eventually written, this match will have its own chapter, the night any lingering doubts about the scale of his brilliance were emphatically put to bed.

It wasn’t just the two goals in 98 first half seconds. It was also the goal-saving block to prevent Cesar Montes from erasing the advantage before half-time, before a second half in which, for long periods, it felt like Bellingham was everywhere, always arriving at the right moment to ease the pressure as Mexico, a man to the good, pushed and probed and hunted for a leveller which never came.

Morgan Rogers is a fine player but the pre-tournament debate over who of the two childhood pals should start feels rather daft now.

Much of that, admittedly, was sparked by Thomas Tuchel, who has never been afraid to criticise the Real Madrid star in public.

Right now, you can only consider that excellent man-management. Regardless of what has been said either in public or private, Bellingham has turned up to this tournament, his brace at the Azteca taking his goal tally to four.

What is different this time about England compared to the past is the presence, in Harry Kane, of a player who can currently lay claim to being one of the world’s best.

There is no-one else you would rather be taking a crucial penalty amid the whistles of 100,000 opposition fans.

With Kane in the team, England always have a chance and Bellingham, on this form, provides them with another match-winner.

Together, they have lifted the belief of those around them. Anthony Gordon and Jordan Pickford, two players who received their fair share of criticism during the opening matches, both delivered when it mattered in Mexico.

Tuchel, meanwhile, can also take huge credit for the tactical nous which first saw England seize the lead and then hold it following Quansah’s dismissal.

The decision to sit-off Mexico both conserved energy and allowed his team to hit on the counter with devastating effect.

And just as against DR Congo a few days previously, Tuchel got all of his substitutions right. Bringing on Dan Burn and the much-maligned Djed Spence and going ultra-defensive with just a one-goal advantage and the thick end of half-an-hour still to play looked a risky move yet in practice, it worked to near perfection.

Mexico, for all their energy, never truly looked like finding an equaliser as a seemingly endless succession of hopeful crosses were launched into the England box before being headed away or punched clear by Pickford.

Who thinks taking Burn over Harry Maguire was a mistake now?

Great as this performance was, it was not perfect. You wouldn’t have to work too hard to paint the narrative England’s win was a little too thrilling than it really needed to be. There remain concerns about the defence and Tuchel’s reluctance to select proper full-backs for his squad may yet prove their downfall.

Neither does the road get any easier from here. Raul Jimenez is good. He is not Erling Haaland and England’s route to glory will now feature other teams who possess their own match-winners of the Kane and Bellingham standard. The margins for error are about to become awfully tight.

After beating Brazil, Norway will not fear England and their run to the last-eight is no fluke. For the winner is a likely prize of facing Argentina, with France or Spain waiting in the final. Proven champions, all.

England still have steps to take but the early hours of Monday felt like a big one.

Until 10pm on Saturday, at least, they have you still believing.