England 3 Mexico 2: Three Lions' 'brotherhood' holds steady in Mexico to keep World Cup dream alive

ENGLAND defender Ezri Konsa says the “brotherhood” in the squad fuelled their famous World Cup victory over Mexico.

Thomas Tuchel’s side produced one of the defining performances in English football history to overcome the odds and progress through the last-16 tie with a memorable 3-2 win at the Estadio Azteca.

They had to battle the altitude, a strong Mexico home advantage and an hour’s delay to kick-off, all before Jarell Quansah was sent off in the second half.

Konsa was at the forefront of England’s rearguard display, first in a central position and then at right-back following Quansah’s red card.

NO WAY THROUGH: England’s Ezri Konsa (right) battles with Mexico’s Raul Jimenez at Mexico City Stadium on Sunday night. Picture: Bradley Collyer/PAplaceholder image
NO WAY THROUGH: England’s Ezri Konsa (right) battles with Mexico’s Raul Jimenez at Mexico City Stadium on Sunday night. Picture: Bradley Collyer/PA

“Brotherhood” has been one of Tuchel’s buzzwords around the tournament and Konsa said it played its part.

“One hundred per cent, it was a brotherhood, you saw that today, the effort we had to put in,” he said.

“Certain players were changing positions, like myself, and putting in a shift.

“If you want to go far in the tournament, it’s what you have to do.

“The boss had to make some changes, I thought Dan Burn and John Stones were excellent when they came on. Having those kinds of players to come on and help us was a great feeling.

“The only thing we were thinking was to show our togetherness, to show how good we can be together defensively.

“I am sure at home it was an amazing game to watch but on the pitch it was a long one, especially when there are 11 minutes added on, but we had to show our strength, show our grit.

“Really proud of the boys and on to the next one.”

England’s last line of defence Jordan Pickford put in one of the performances of his career.

The Everton goalkeeper equalled Peter Shilton’s record of 17 World Cup appearances and he marked the occasion in style, producing a host of important saves and also commanding his area impressively.

Konsa said: “Definitely, as a defender having a world-class goalkeeper behind you is always a good thing, we know how good he is.

“The amount of appearances he has made for England is for a reason, so happy with his performance and ours at the same time.”

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