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England win World Cup thriller in Mexico to reveal true identity

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4 weeks ago

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At altitude, England dug so deep. They came out of an absolute battle to seize a quarter-final place against Erling Haaland’s Norway.

An epic game worthy of the Azteca had almost everything, and especially excellence at both ends from Jude Bellingham and Jordan Pickford, as Thomas Tuchel’s side had to give their all.

A flailing, if spirited Mexico were dispatched 3-2, the tension ratcheting up with all of the refereeing decisions and the ghosts of 1986 swirling around.

There were also echoes of 1998 and 2006, after Jarrel Quansah had been sent off for a VAR review. That was one of many, to go with multiple moments of doubt.

England, for their part, showed an admirable belief through all of that. They instead ensured 2026 is a different story, for now, after a game that was arguably the country’s most dramatic ever World Cup win. It certainly tested emotions, especially amid those last 11 minutes of stoppage time that felt as long England’s 60-year wait.

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Sometimes, though, emotion is all these World Cup matches come down to – especially with the way they drive and drag teams to such limits.

We saw it all here, culminating in lamentable Mexican tears. Even Tuchel said he was almost sorry to see them out.

In this last World Cup match at the Azteca, the hosts had put everything in but they were always lacking something.

Thomas Tuchel’s switch to a hugely defensive – and risky – 5-3-1 once Quansah was sent off actually worked much better than expected, as the anticipated Mexican siege never really arrived.

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Pickford, after two sensational saves in the first half that weren’t far behind Gordon Banks’s in the same country, met everything in that period. Dan Burn meanwhile quelled the previously imposing threat of Raul Jimenez. He brought the best out of Pickford and, ultimately, the team.

For all the rightful lauding of England’s character and resolve, there were again concerns and flaws, that you can’t help but feel would be punished against superior sides.

Most of all, England saw another game – arguably the third of five – become a dogfight.

They struggle to assert any kind of control, which also feels slightly contradictory, when Elliot Anderson had played so well.

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That is probably influenced by the fragility at the back. It is remarkable how quickly gaps appear.

The Quansah red card can even be linked to these issues at right-back.

England were again exposed.

England's Jude Bellingham celebrates after the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match
England’s Jude Bellingham celebrates after the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match (PA)
England faced adversity throughout the last 16 tie
England faced adversity throughout the last 16 tie (PA)

But then… how many sides at this World Cup are actually good enough to not get punished themselves?

Just look at the team arguably the strongest on this side of the draw – even if that is now very arguable – in Argentina. Their test of will against Cabo Verde was even more gruelling than this.

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Perhaps that’s just the nature of this World Cup, the gaps lessened, every game a battles.

And if so many other sides are flawed, can they be just as easily punished by England if Harry Kane and Bellingham are on this kind of form?

It’s almost like they’re trading influential games now. Kane gets two in the last 32 then Bellingham gets two here, with the captain adding a brilliant penalty that did end up being decisive.

It was Bellingham that shaped the entire game, though, right up to how his two goals set everything that followed.

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One irony to that is England initially looked like they’d got their approach absolutely correct.

Jude Bellingham celebrates against Mexico
Jude Bellingham celebrates against Mexico (AP)
Harry Kane of England celebrates with Jude Bellingham after converting a penalty
Harry Kane of England celebrates with Jude Bellingham after converting a penalty (Getty)

Clearly conscious of the excessive demands of this game, Tuchel had England play in a constrained approach where they invited pressure and then patiently hit Mexico on the counter.

With one drive forward, it was like Bellingham changed the entire tone of the match.

He was then there to finish from another counter moments later, plundering the first in brilliant fashion.

That should have been the pattern of the game. Having scored one on the counter, England then scored another on the counter press.

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Bellingham was there again.

That should have been that, even as the Mexican fans sang “yes we can”.

It seemed little more than hope, an attempt to manifest some deep will that wasn’t really based on any substance.

And then England just frittered away themselves.

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Mexico's Julian Quinones celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates
Mexico’s Julian Quinones celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates (Reuters)
England's Jude Bellingham celebrates their side's third of the game
England’s Jude Bellingham celebrates their side’s third of the game (PA)

If the foul that led to Julian Quinones’s brilliantly taken goal did not look a foul, it came from a spell where England were giving away a series of free-kicks.

That seemed so needless… especially since it was 2-0.

Again it came back to this issue of control. Allowances obviously can be made for everything about these settings, but this was another one of those dogfights when England had been purring.

They badly needed the break. The game wasn’t letting, until we entered a series of big decisions and VAR reviews.

England's Harry Kane (centre), Declan Rice (centre left), Jude Bellingham (left) and team-mates celebrate
England’s Harry Kane (centre), Declan Rice (centre left), Jude Bellingham (left) and team-mates celebrate (PA)
England's Jude Bellingham (left), Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers (right) celebrate
England’s Jude Bellingham (left), Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers (right) celebrate (PA)

First there was Quansah, then the crucial reprieve of Raul Rangel’s foul on the relentless Anthony Gordon for Kane to power home – then Kane’s own foul for Jimenez’s penalty.

Amid all of that, though, there was only Mexican crossing.

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In one crucial moment just before the end of the 90, they had a chance to work an opening but instead played it back to swing it in again.

England gradually learned to deal with this, despite the emotion – and 11 minutes’ injury time – inevitably bringing one big scare.

And that is maybe the main lesson of this game: England still have a lot of issues, but they have qualities and spirit and an ability to respond that can take them through to the final.

They now just have a big striker to face.

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It will be going far to ensure the emotional peaks of this match are reached.

At the end of the game, England sank to the ground in relief.

That was certainly down to more than altitude. They’d gone very, very deep – and it might yet mean going deep into this World Cup.

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Kevin Owens makes emotional return at WWE SummerSlam after serious neck injury

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8 minutes ago

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3 August 2026

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Kevin Owens still has plenty of fight left in him. Seventeen months after a neck injury that nearly cost him his professional wrestling career, Owens made an emphatic return at Night 2 of 2026 WWE SummerSlam on Sunday.

The show began with what had been advertised as a match between Finn Balor and Sami Zayn for a No. 1 Contendership to the Undisputed WWE Championship, currently held by CM Punk. Nick Aldis, recently reinstated as SmackDown general manager, had other plans. Moments before the match started, Aldis added Gunther and a returning Owens to the match.

The Minneapolis crowd welcomed Owens back with a roar of excitement and a sigh of relief. After all, there was once a concern that Owens would never wrestle again. He had not performed since beating Zayn in a physically grueling unsanctioned match at WWE Elimination Chamber on March 3, 2025. Owens was preparing for an encounter with Randy Orton at WrestleMania 42 that never materialized. On April 4, he revealed that he’d been dealing with nagging neck and spinal cord injuries that required surgery.

“The pain in the neck, the stuff going down the arms, the legs not really responding, it’s all been happening,” Owens told Cody Rhodes two months later on the “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast. “It’s been pretty f—ing brutal. I can’t wait for the surgery. And then to move forward, whatever that looks like — but it’s been very frustrating.” 

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If not for selling his neck injury during the match, you wouldn’t know his career had nearly ended. Owens crushed his three foes with a swanton bomb to the floor, planted Balor with a fisherman’s buster and even took some decent bumps. Perhaps the most touching moment of their short match was when Owens and Zayn — best friends for decades who started their professional wrestling careers together — embraced before throwing punches. 

Owens scored the pinfall after planting Zayn with a stunner. The win immediately thrusts him back into SmackDown’s main event scene, putting him on a collision course with Punk for the Undisputed WWE Championship.

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Spooky in Love – When will episodes 7-8 release and what to expect

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21 minutes ago

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3 August 2026

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Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8 will air on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, 2026, respectively, at 9:10 pm KST on tvN. The episodes will be available on Netflix a few hours after the Korean broadcast. It has a total of 12 episodes.

The lead cast features Park Eun-bin as Cheon Yeo-ri, Yang Se-jong as Ma Gang-uk, and Ong Seong-wu as Kang Min-hwan.

What to expect in Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8?

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The preview for Spooky in Love episodes 7 and 8 opens in the aftermath of the sudden engagement announcement between Yeo-ri and Gang-uk.

Baek Gyeong-ja does not accept the news at face value and searches for signs that the arrangement is not genuine. She questions whether Gang-uk’s choice stems from business considerations or actual feelings. Gang-uk states directly that he likes Yeo-ri enough to decide on the engagement. Yeo-ri explains her earlier distance as an attempt to play hard to get.

Family members and others around them express clear resistance to the match and take steps to interfere. Yeo-ri encounters Paeng Myo-sun, Gang-uk’s grandmother, and initially mistakes her for a ghost before realizing she is alive when the older woman greets her. Paeng Myo-sun asks Yeo-ri about her zodiac sign and year of birth.

Ok Gye-hee is shown keeping closer watch on Yeo-ri. Cheon Ha-ri approaches Kang Min-hwan and proposes that they work together, stating that she already has a method to end the engagement. Min-hwan makes his own opposition clear by telling Gang-uk to call off the engagement while there is still time. Min-hwan also locates Yeo-ri’s former fiancé and brings up the actual reason the previous relationship ended, leaving the man without a response.

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Yeo-ri and Gang-uk are shown spending additional time together once the engagement is underway. They go on dates and appear to enjoy each other’s company. The preview includes a mysterious phone call received by Yeo-ri at the same time that information about her ability begins to surface. Ha-ri is shown witnessing an event she was not meant to see, which leaves her frozen in place.

Spooky in Love episodes 5 and 6 recap

Spooky in Love episodes 5 and 6 aired on August 1 and August 2, 2026. In episode 5, Yeo-ri hugs Gang-uk after believing he has become a ghost. She hears his heartbeat and learns he survived the earlier accident. After discharge, Gang-uk finds he can no longer see ghosts. Yeo-ri suggests they stop meeting.

Media gather at the hotel over the abduction reports. Min-hwan shields Yeo-ri from reporters. Gang-uk notices Min-hwan’s protective actions and feels jealous. Yeo-ri warns Ha-ri about further contact with Seung-jae. Min-hwan invites Yeo-ri to an event at the Yeeon Museum of Art. At the museum event, Gang-uk meets Yeo-ri and later claims he sees ghosts in order to speak with her. She identifies his lies. Gang-uk proposes they work together on the related cold case.

Yeo-ri later feels jealousy when she sees Im Seo-hyeon holding Gang-uk’s hand. Yeo-ri confronts her grandmother over the engagement news leak to the media. She later summons a spirit to solve a case that shows a man killing his girlfriend. Yeo-ri and Gang-uk confront the man at the site. Yeo-ri then agrees to collaborate with Gang-uk on cold cases, beginning with the 300-year-old letter.

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In Spooky in Love episode 6, Yeo-ri and Gang-uk set rules for their joint work. Gang-uk locates additional artwork and the missing portion of the letter at a graveyard. Yeo-ri vows to reunite the pair. Later at the museum, Min-hwan gives Yeo-ri a pair of gloves, and they run into Gang-uk and Seo-hyeon.

The group later shares dinner, and Yeo-ri feels jealous of Seo-hyeon’s closeness to Gang-uk. Afterward, Yeo-ri and Gang-uk trip near an alley and share an accidental kiss. They confirm no bare-hand contact occurred and agree to report any spirit sightings to each other.

The next day in Spooky in Love episode 6, Min-hwan obtains a report on Gang-uk’s past heart transplant 12-years ago. Yeo-ri and Gang-uk locate Hwagyeongdang’s burial site under camellia trees at the museum grounds. Yeo-ri trades a family pine tree for the camellias. Ha-ri plans to expose Yeo-ri’s secret and meets her former fiancé.

Yeo-ri visits her hospitalized grandmother, who urges her to engage to Min-hwan. Yeo-ri informs Gang-uk of the impending engagement demand. At a family dinner that includes Min-hwan, Yeo-ri announces her engagement to Gang-uk, leaving those present in shock.

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Viewers can stream the released episodes of Spooky in Love on Netflix.