Mexico manager steps down hours after losing to England at World Cup

Mexico's manager, Javier Aguirre, has stepped down just hours after losing to England 3-2 at the World Cup.

Aguirre confirmed he will leave his role after suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of the Three Lions at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

The contest, which was Mexico's first-ever World Cup loss at the stadium, saw Jude Bellingham score twice and Harry Kane convert a penalty to send the co-hosts crashing out.

Aguirre, 67, resigns after his third stint as the team's national coach.

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He guided El Tri to the last 16 in 2002 and 2010 before being hired in 2024 to bring success to Mexico at the 2026 World Cup.

His side impressed in the group stages, winning all three matches without conceding a goal as home supporters started to dream.

The round-of-32 produced something similar, with a comfortable 2-0 victory against Ecuador, setting up their tie against England.

Despite only ever losing twice at the Azteca Stadium, the Three Lions took apart the Mexicans, who hung on for a memorable 3-2 victory.

Speaking after the game, Aguirre said: "I would have liked to say goodbye to my people with a victory. That hurts, we tried.

"The players need to leave with their heads held high. Today it could not be. We failed to capitalise, but I want to thank them all.

"I leave with a lot of pride. These players made me very happy. We recovered the sense of belonging and the identity of this team."

Aguirre backed Rafa Marquez to take over as Mexico manager, saying: "I wish him the best. He is more than capable, and he will do better than me."

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England's win means they will face Norway in the quarter-finals, following their 2-1 victory against Brazil.

The Three Lions winger Anthony Gordon hailed his side's performance, with the Barcelona-bound forward winning England's penalty.

"I think it probably won't kick in until this evening. To celebrate like we just did was once in a lifetime.

"We spoke about this being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and atmosphere, but it was also going to test us, and it did in the worst way possible. We came through. That can't say any more about us.

"It was difficult. The altitude in the first 20 minutes was difficult. We're good players, we play the top level, that's what we're paid to do. We knew it would be tough but big players, big moments.

"When we got a man sent off, I knew I'd have to be trustworthy and run more than ever.

"I'm a player where I want to be good at everything, whatever kind of game I'm in I can change the game. I try to do my best for the team and hopefully I've done that.

"We focus on the process, how we play, how we train. The outcome we can never control, but we can control how we react, how we train, and that's doing us well so far," he told the BBC.

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