Football Atlas

@Footballtweet Nasri was a very brilliant footballer during his days at Arsenal and then at Manchester City, but he didn't stay long as a footballer, I guess he has poor work ethics.

Sunday produced two Round of 16 matches that will be remembered for completely different reasons. One saw a five-time world champion dismantled by the best striker on the planet. The other saw England survive one of the most hostile environments in international football with ten men. 🇧🇷 Brazil 1-2 Norway 🇲🇽 Mexico 2-3 England Brazil's downfall began long before Erling Haaland scored. The defining moment may actually have come in the 14th minute. After VAR awarded Brazil a penalty following Kristoffer Ajer's challenge on Matheus Cunha, Bruno Guimarães stepped up instead of Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha, or Neymar. His hesitant run-up allowed Ørjan Nyland to read the strike perfectly, producing a save that completely changed the momentum of the match. Carlo Ancelotti later admitted that statistical analysis had actually ranked Raphinha as Brazil's best penalty taker, raising even more questions about why Guimarães took responsibility. Norway never panicked. They defended patiently, absorbed pressure, and then one substitution transformed the game. Andreas Schjelderup entered at halftime and immediately gave Norway a completely different outlet on the left. His movement forced Brazil backwards, created Norway's best opportunities, and directly assisted both Haaland goals. The opener was a familiar story. Schjelderup delivered from the left, Gabriel Magalhães lost Haaland's run, and the Norwegian powered home another towering header. For anyone who has watched Manchester City against Arsenal over the last few years, it felt like history repeating itself on the biggest stage. The criticism afterwards was brutal. Gary Neville called Gabriel's defending "crazy." Ian Wright questioned how a defender so familiar with Haaland could completely lose sight of him. Joe Hart simply described it as being bullied. Roy Keane joined the criticism as well. Then came the killer. With Brazil committing bodies forward, Schjelderup released Haaland once more. One touch. Low finish. Bottom corner. 2-0. Seven goals at this World Cup. Fourteen consecutive competitive internationals with a goal. Twenty-seven goals during that run. Norway had just reached its first-ever World Cup quarter-final. Brazil eventually scored through Neymar from the penalty spot deep into stoppage time, but it changed nothing except the scoreline. It also proved to be Neymar's final goal for Brazil before confirming his international retirement. For Ancelotti, difficult questions now begin. The Neymar selection over João Pedro, heavily criticised before the tournament, will only receive greater scrutiny after Brazil exited with Neymar contributing just one stoppage-time penalty across the competition. Meanwhile, in Mexico City... Everything pointed towards England struggling. An hour-long weather delay. Over 80,000 hostile supporters. 2,200 metres above sea level. For thirty-five minutes, Mexico looked the better side. Then Jude Bellingham changed everything. Two goals in just 98 seconds completely flipped the tie. Mexico responded before halftime. Then England's evening nearly collapsed when Jarell Quansah received a straight red card after VAR upgraded his reckless challenge. More than half an hour remained. At the Azteca. Against the hosts. Instead of retreating, England scored again. Anthony Gordon won a penalty. Harry Kane converted for his sixth goal of the tournament, drawing level with Gerd Müller on the World Cup's all-time scoring charts. Ironically, Kane later became the first player in the modern World Cup era to both score and concede a penalty in the same match after VAR awarded Mexico a spot kick. The final twenty minutes became a siege. Jordan Pickford produced save after save. John Stones and Dan Burn threw themselves into crucial clearances. Bellingham was everywhere, defending, recovering possession, carrying England up the pitch whenever they needed relief. After eleven minutes of stoppage time, England had done what almost nobody expected. Win at the Azteca. With ten men. Against the hosts. Norway vs England now awaits in Miami. The tournament's most devastating goalscorer against arguably its most influential all-round midfielder. Haaland. Bellingham. A semi-final place on the line. Full tactical analysis, key statistics, post-match reactions, and everything that happened across both matches is in the full article below. x.com/FootballAtlas1…

Oh my! That was quite. 2 goals already from Bellingham. Mexico have no answers to what is happening to them at the Azteca stadium.

@MLS @ChicagoFire @miseleccionmxEN It looks like Mexico will be going back to their houses after the game to eat taco.

Guti checks in. 🇲🇽 @ChicagoFire // @miseleccionmxEN

CLOSE, but not close enough

@talkSPORT This shouldn't be debated, its a straight red card in all fairness

Do you think this was a red card, YES or NO? 🤔

@TouchlineX Thas the best he can do at this point. Defend to the death and if anything then take it to extra-time and regroup

📸 - TUCHEL IS REALLY PARKING THE BUS!

England vs Mexico is exactly the kind of football we crave, high intensity, relentless drama, and end-to-end action. Both teams have delivered moments of brilliance, and the referee has managed the game with composure throughout. Can't wait to see how the final 20 minutes unfold. 🍿⚽ #MEXENG

@certifiedsurur I actually the game to get to extra time. Both team have been outstandjng so far

@FootballAtlas1 Bro it’s heat. I see Mexico equalizing

VAR: PENALTY GIVEN FOR MEXICO 🇲🇽🫣

@virtue_peace Where are they?

Midnight check : who is active?

@_theirGod I'll be shocked if it actually happens and will engage everyone who does same to me.

Imagine saying HI and you wake to over 400 neww followers??

Fxck, thats a red card for England against Mexico and its non negotiable. Quansah should have known and done better. This is bad, real bad

@TrollFootball England are having a ride over Mexico at the moment

@certifiedsurur The second half is about to get really intense

@FootballAtlas1 3 goals in a span of 4 minutes

That happened too fast

Mexico vs England: First-Half Analysis Mexico hadn't conceded a single goal in this entire World Cup, five games, zero against, until tonight. They've now let in two in ninety-eight seconds and trail 2-1 at altitude in front of their own raucous crowd. Here's everything that actually happened in a genuinely chaotic first half at Azteca. Context first: kickoff was delayed a full hour for lightning, England's bus was jeered and sprayed with foam on arrival, and mocking "En-gland" chants started before the whistle. Add 7,200 feet of altitude and a crowd that hasn't lost here in years, and this was built to be hostile. For the first twenty-five minutes, it was. Mexico were quicker, more physical, and England didn't manage a single shot until the 26th minute. Jordan Pickford is the reason this game didn't get away from England before they'd even settled. Three real saves inside the opening twenty minutes: a sharp low stop on a Jiménez header, a tap over the bar on a curling effort, and a hand save to force a corner off another Jiménez chance. Then his quick restart directly launched the move that led to the opener. A goalkeeper single-handedly keeping his team level and starting the breakthrough is not a stat line you see often. The opener itself was a flash of pure counter-attacking quality: Rice off Pickford's throw, into Saka, whose cross found Bellingham completely unmarked at the back post. Silenced a stadium of 87,000 in about eight seconds of build-up. Then the ninety-eight seconds that decided the half. Elliott Anderson won a loose ball high up the pitch, Kane had the simplest of tap-ins available and instead squared it selflessly for Bellingham to complete his brace, first through the legs of Érik Lira. Two goals, two different finishes, one midfielder having the game of his life in front of a crowd that wanted him silent. Mexico's response was immediate and deserved real credit, not sympathy. Roberto Álvarado's inswinging free-kick deflected kindly to Julián Quiñones, unmarked just outside the six-yard box, who volleyed instinctively into the roof of the net first time. His fourth goal of the tournament, and it's putting him firmly into the Golden Boot conversation. The closing stretch of stoppage time was end-to-end; Bellingham cleared a ball off his own line with the goal gaping, Jiménez then shot narrowly wide after a slight deflection off Konsa, and Pickford produced yet another sharp stop to deny him moments later. Both sides could have walked in at 2-2; both will feel hard done by that they didn't. Here's the debate already splitting timelines: one side is calling this the game of the tournament so far, entertaining, end to end, genuine quality from both squads. The other side is pointing out England only lead because of one six-minute spell against the run of play, and that for the twenty-five minutes either side of it, Mexico were the better, sharper, more dangerous team. Both things can be true at once, and that's exactly why the second half matters more than the scoreline suggests. Where this sits heading into the restart, England have the lead and the composure of players like Kane and Pickford who've been here before. Mexico have the crowd, the altitude, and a striker in Jiménez who's one moment away from dragging this level again. Nothing about a 2-1 scoreline at Azteca with this atmosphere is remotely settled.

@certifiedsurur The game is turning into something between both teams

@FootballAtlas1 They just pulled one back

@England Its about to turn into an epic game of football

Goal. Mexico have one back.

@TouchlineX Mexico are about to collapse in the game.

📸 - JUDE BELLINGHAM REALLY SCORED 2 GOALS IN 99 SECONDS! JUST WOW!