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

While England conceded twice to Mexico and survived a siege at Azteca, numbers show a performance of true grit

Was this England’s best performance since 1966? On the surface, England conceded 20 shots in their 3-2 win against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium – which sounds alarming.

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.

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