India, July 6 -- There are matches that settle into a rhythm. Then there are some that seem determined to reject that concept altogether. England's chaotic 3-2 victory over Mexico at the Azteca belonged emphatically to the latter. Lurching end to end, swinging violently between control and bedlam, it witnessed three goals in six first-half minutes, a straight red, a stunning save, a goalpost rebound, two penalties and enough momentum shifts to fill an entire knockout tie. And at the centre of it all stood Jude Bellingham.

By the final whistle, Bellingham had scored twice, produced a match-altering defensive intervention, and somehow managed to look like England's most influential player at both ends of the pitch. On an evening when every...