We witnessed a classic in Mexico City, as England became the first team to beat Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in a World Cup match.The round-of-16 tie had plenty of drama: a red card, two penalties, five goals, and 11 minutes of added time in a 3-2 England triumph, making it a worthy all-nighter for fans back in England.During the celebrations, a sad note for the England camp was Jordan Henderson, who landed awkwardly after slipping over an advertising board and will be out for the remainder of the tournament as he requires wrist surgery. But that wasn’t the only bizarre thing to happen.Whether you stayed up to watch or not, here are the more unusual things that added to the allure of one of England’s most famous victories in recent years.Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic appMexico manager swearing at Gordon and then smilingThere was a nervous energy to the first 30 minutes of the game. Mexico manager Javier Aguirre dealt with it as he knows best — using swear words liberally.The 67-year-old once justified a red card he got for swearing at an official by saying: “That’s just the way I talk. ‘Hijo de p–a’ (son of a b****) is something I say a dozen times a game.”Javier Aguirre gestures during the match against England (Carl De Souza / AFP via Getty Images)A clip is circulating of Aguirre calling England’s Anthony Gordon from the sideline, then jokingly telling him, “F*** you,” before chuckling.Gordon laughed it off, and there is a much more playful tone here than what we saw between Paraguay’s Juan Caceres and France’s Kylian Mbappe the day prior.Mind you, this was before Aguirre had anything to actually rant about. Soon after, his team were 2-0 down.Mexico’s foul kick-off — after Kane penaltySet pieces have never been more important in the game. Set-piece coaches, like Austin MacPhee of Aston Villa and Portugal, are now well known and Premier League winners Arsenal, well, won the league title largely thanks to their set-piece prowess.
The unusual moments you may have missed during England’s World Cup win over Mexico
From Harry Kane's croaky voice to the Mexico manager swearing at Anthony Gordon, plenty happened during a memorable night in Mexico










