Where does England’s stunning Mexico win rank among their greatest away results?

England’s extraordinary 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca has sparked debate over where it ranks among the Three Lions’ greatest results on foreign soil, with BBC Sport running through some of the standout contenders from the last century of English football.

Jude Bellingham’s first-half double and a Harry Kane penalty secured victory in Mexico City, with England playing more than half the match with ten men after Jarell Quansah’s 54th-minute red card. It is only the second time in history that England have beaten a World Cup host nation, following their 1954 win over Switzerland.

Read more: Quansah red card: why was England defender sent off against Mexico?

A fortress broken at altitude

According to BBC Sport, Mexico had lost just twice in 89 previous competitive matches at the Azteca before England’s visit, both defeats coming in World Cup qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras. They had won 16 and drawn six of their last 22 games at the stadium, and had kept clean sheets in all four of their previous matches at this World Cup.

The Azteca sits 7,220 feet above sea level, a factor widely seen as a major advantage for the hosts. Despite all of that, and playing a man light for much of the second half, Gareth Southgate’s successors found a way to win in Mexico City.

Comparisons with previous famous away wins

BBC Sport places the Mexico win alongside several other landmark England results. One frequently cited comparison is the 2018 Nations League victory in Seville, where England beat Spain 3-2 having led 3-0 at half-time through a Raheem Sterling double and a Marcus Rashford strike – ending a run in which Spain had not lost a home competitive fixture for 15 years.

Another is the famous 5-1 win in Munich in 2001, when Michael Owen’s hat-trick, alongside goals from Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey, sealed a World Cup qualifying victory that remains one of just four home qualifying defeats in Germany’s history. The result proved decisive, with England pipping Germany to automatic qualification on goal difference.

Not every result on the list is a win. England’s goalless draw in Rome in 1997, secured under Glenn Hoddle, is remembered as one of the great defensive away performances, sending Italy into the play-offs and England to the 1998 World Cup. The image of a bloodied Paul Ince, patched up and still playing, has become symbolic of that night.

Further back, Ron Greenwood’s England beat Hungary 3-1 in Budapest in 1981 during a crucial World Cup qualifying campaign, with Trevor Brooking scoring twice, including a goal that famously became lodged in the stanchion. BBC Sport also notes England’s 5-0 win over Scotland in 1888, one of only two wins in their first 16 meetings with their oldest rivals at that stage.

Where the Azteca win might sit

BBC Sport stops short of definitively ranking the results, instead inviting fans to weigh in on where the Mexico victory belongs. The scale of the challenge – home advantage, altitude, a red card and a hostile crowd – has led many to argue it deserves a place among England’s very best performances away from home, if not at the very top.