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CBS Sports Golazo @cbssportsgolazo-m.bsky.social
Jul 8, 05:04 AM

"England had everything against them... It was the perfect test to see if this team was unified." @J_Dyer_Official celebrates England for how they managed the occasion at the Azteca vs. Mexico 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

🎤 Whisper Transcript (en) ⏱ 153s

"I think sometimes in the midst of some of the most intense atmospheres, you can really find out how deep your team's character is. And yesterday, England had everything against them. The atmosphere, the altitude, the energy was against, like every single time I felt like an English player was touching a ball, I felt like all I could hear was whistles. And I was turning my TV down. That's how loud it was in terms of in the front room. So it was the perfect test to see if this team is unified and they actually passed. And I was so shocked that it was, as Thomas Tuco alluded to, it was the character. It was a determination. It had nothing to do with the football for the first time. I mean, you're never going to hear a manager praise a team that's had 33% possession, had half the amount of shots as the opposition, but then still showcase so much that goes into this game. And I was really proud of looking at England yesterday because it wasn't never going to be the cleanest cut of game. It was never going to be the beautiful football that was going to get England through. It was whether or not they could actually manage the occasion. And for the first time, England actually passed the test in terms of managing mentality. You're very happy about this. I'm smiling, but you're smiling and crying too. Listen, at the same time, it was a lot happening in that household yesterday. And I can only imagine every other household because I realize now living in America, there is a huge Mexican community here that was ready. They were ready for everything. And Latree, I think, gave absolutely everything. But at the same time, England really showcased that they have the fortitude here to actually win a World Cup. And that's always been the question mark. I think England needed a win like that. They haven't had the best performances I've loved hearing Troy talk about. England because he is on them, and rightfully so. And I think getting a really gritty win like that, especially when I would say like 98% of the world was saying that Mexico was going to win at the Azteca at home with the momentum that they have, the support behind them, how difficult it is to play there, and the momentum. And England finally got that. And I think there's a couple of teams in this tournament that have had to pull out gutsy wins, a man down as well, that you're going to look back on a match like that, and that's going to propel you forward. That gave them a different sharper edge than they've had in a long time. I think for me, it was the mentality before the game even started. The players were saying that the altitude wasn't going to affect us. The fact that we were at Azteca, 87,000 fans, 82 of them being Mexican fans, they tuned the noise out. And for me to be able to witness a team like that go into an environment where I've known it's very heavy and get the result, incredible."

💬 Discussion

CBS Sports Golazo @cbssportsgolazo-m.bsky.social · Jul 6, 03:07 PM

"England had everything against them... It was the perfect test to see if this team was unified." @J_Dyer_Official celebrates England for how they managed the occasion at the Azteca vs. Mexico 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿