Mexico player 'forgets rules of football' as fans left baffled by illegal move vs England

In one of the more unusual moments of the World Cup so far, a Mexico player attempted an illegal kick-off routine during Sunday's round of 16 clash against England – and the incident is going viral.

England secured their place in the quarter-finals of this summer's World Cup after goals from Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham (2) sealed a dramatic 3-2 win at the Estadio Azteca.

It was a game filled with big moments. From Bellingham's 98-second brace in the first-half, to Kane beating goalkeeper Raul Rangel with one of his trademark penalties to give Tuchel's men a two-goal advantage.

Mexico were desperate to try and reduce the deficit in the immediate aftermath of Kane's goal.

In fact, one of their players was so eager to start an attack that he double-touched and dribbled the ball forward, leaving referee Alireza Faghani with no option but to award England a free-kick on the halfway line.

Naturally, fans rushed to social media to discuss the illegal kick-off, with many agreeing that it was the first time they had seen such an incident.

One wrote: "I don’t think I’ve ever seen an illegal kickoff(?) before?" and another commented: "Their heads were so gone. Emotion and passion is key but like anything it has to be controlled."

A third said: "I was only kind of half paying attention to this and just presumed I'd missed a few seconds with replays or whatever when I saw England taking the kick off."

A fourth wrote: "How my under 7's used to try and take kick off," and a fifth added: "Used to happen quite a lot when I played at Under 6. Not seen it since."

lol don’t think I’ve ever seen an illegal kickoff(?) before?? pic.twitter.com/vL5AgI9u9g

— ⛷️ (@stokaljona) July 6, 2026

England took a two-goal lead after a brace from Bellingham in the first-half, but Julian Quinones's strike shortly before the break energised the Mexico fans inside an electric Azteca.

Thomas Tuchel's side needed to dig deep for the majority of the second-half after Jarell Quansah was given a straight red card for a high challenge on Jesus Gallardo following a VAR intervention.

READ MORE: England could face fresh World Cup chaos as quarter-final tie confirmed

In fact, Raul Jimenez's penalty in the 69th minute piled on the pressure as 10-man England defended for their lives, but they managed to get over the line after 11 minutes of stoppage time.

Harry Kane gives one of the greatest post-match interviews ever after losing his voice

After singing every word of Oasis hit Wonderwall at the top of his lungs, Harry Kane delivered a post-match interview to remember.

As is often the case, the England captain was called over to perform media duties with the BBC but what followed was one of the more unexpected moments in World Cup history after he lost his voice while talking to the nation.

“My voice has gone," he laughed. “It was a crazy game, we had to fight. We had to find something. I’ve just been singing there, I can’t really talk."

"Everything was against us but we found a way," added Kane. "I’m speechless, I can’t even talk.”