Футбол

Burn’s blocks, Pickford’s punches: the data behind England’s defensive heroics | Andrew Beasley

<p>While England conceded twice to Mexico and survived an Azteca siege, the numbers show a performance of true grit</p><p>Was this England’s best performance since 1966? On the surface, England conceded 20 shots in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/06/england-mexico-match-report-jude-bellingham-harry-kane-world-cup">their 3-2 win against Mexico</a> at the Azteca Stadium – which sounds alarming.</p><p>Yet if you drill into the numbers, the 19 non-penalty shots they faced were collectively worth only 1.09 expected goals (xG). Thomas Tuchel’s men defended superbly.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/06/england-mexico-win-numbers-thomas-tuchel-jordan-pickford-dan-burn">Continue reading...</a>