England just pulled off what might be the most dramatic Round of 16 victory in their World Cup history, beating Mexico 3-2 at Estadio Azteca on July 5. And somewhere between Jude Bellingham’s brace and a red card that nearly derailed everything, crypto betting platforms were having their own kind of moment.

Sir Geoff Hurst, the only man to score a hat trick in a World Cup final, openly questioned whether this performance tops anything England has done on foreign soil since 1966.

The match that had everything

Bellingham scored twice in two minutes during the first half, finding the net at the 36th and 38th minute marks.

Harry Kane added a penalty at the 60th minute to push England to 3-0. Mexico’s Quiñones had already pulled one back in the 42nd minute, and Jiménez converted a penalty of his own in the 69th to make it 3-2. Then Jarell Quansah saw red, forcing England to grind out the remaining minutes with 10 men against a Mexican side playing in front of a hostile home crowd at the Azteca.

England survived. They advance to the quarterfinals where Norway awaits.

Crypto sportsbooks ride the knockout wave

Crypto-enabled sportsbooks saw increased transaction volumes during the 2026 World Cup knockout stages, with activity climbing as high-stakes matches delivered exactly the kind of drama that fuels betting engagement.

Fan tokens have also entered the conversation, though the activity has been uneven. Tokens tied to teams like Brazil and various European squads have seen heightened trading activity during the tournament. Neither England nor Mexico have prominent fan tokens driving market discussions right now.

Why sports betting is crypto’s quiet growth story

Blockchain-based betting platforms don’t need to trust a centralized operator to hold funds or pay out winnings. Every wager is recorded on-chain, every payout is verifiable, and the house edge is typically encoded in transparent smart contracts rather than buried in terms and conditions that nobody reads.