Former England forward Wayne Rooney says England’s celebrations in the dressing-room following their 3-2 win over Mexico in the 2026 World Cup are ‘a bit too soon’, but former Chelsea star Cesar Azpilicueta disagrees.
England players could be seen dancing and celebrating after the World Cup round-of-16 match against Mexico which they won to progress to the quarter-finals.
The celebrations included defender John Stones faking a shoulder injury to bust a dance move, which seemed to impress manager Thomas Tuchel.
Too soon?
During BBC’s post-match coverage, Wayne Rooney said: “I’m a bit more old school.
“After you win anything… I know you’ve got to enjoy it but I think it’s a bit too soon.”
Cesar Azpilicueta, who is also a pundit on the show, disagreed with Rooney’s statement, saying: “As a player, when you have had these kinds of games against a host, this atmosphere, you have to enjoy it.
“Life is about balance, football is about balance, you have to enjoy it.
“Now they will recover and be ready for another game.”
READ MORE: World Cup 2026: Thomas Tuchel slams referees after England march past Mexico
Praising the performance
Rooney did, however, still give a lot of credit for how England played in the match.
He said: “That was one of the greatest results, performances.
“They showed attitude, grit, desire, everything you would have wanted an England team to show they showed.
“Going down to 10 we knew it was going to be difficult.
“They sat in and I was worried that we went too deep too early, but they put their bodies on the line. The centre-backs and Pickford were outstanding.
“We were the better team until the red card and then we showed a lesson in heading the ball out of the box, blocking shots, just brilliant.”
Shearer in agreement
Legendary striker Alan Shearer, also part of the BBC team, echoed the thoughts of Rooney on England’s performance.
He said: “Those players have represented their country in magnificent form.
“Every single player had the right attitude.
“Everything that could have gone against them, everything that was thrown at them, the energy, the altitude, they have got past all of that and they deserved it.
“That is an incredible performance from start to finish.”
He added: “We’ve been waiting for England. Before the game they had probably only had that one good half against Croatia.
“There were moments and pieces of brilliance from Kane and Bellingham, but the performance was pretty much perfect.
“There was so much talk of everything that they had to face, the altitude and so on, and they have dealt with that.
“They have dealt with other knock backs too.
“This was a standout performance, a performance that can carry them forward and give them belief that they can go on and do something in this competition.”
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