The European side raced into a 3-0 lead at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan before Mexico twice replied in the second half.

The Mexicans' efforts proved to be in vain, however, as England held on for a win that guarantees their progression from Group F.

Rhian Brewster's superb 25-yard free-kick gave England the lead in the first half before Philip Foden doubled their advantage three minutes after the break.

A penalty from Jadon Sancho seemed to put the result of the match beyond doubt but Mexico gave England a scare as a double from Diego Lainez reduced the deficit to one.

Mexico were not able to find the equaliser as England's defence held firm.

In the other match in Group F, Iraq boosted their chances of qualifying for the knockout rounds with a comfortable 3-0 win over Chile.

Mohammed Dawood struck in each half, while Diego Valencia also put through his own net in another miserable outing for the Chileans, rooted to the bottom of the group.

In Group E, Amine Gouiri's two goals helped France take a giant step towards the next round as they earned a narrow 2-1 victory against Japan at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.

Taisei Miyashiro got Japan back into the game with a penalty 17 minutes from time before France saw out their second win of the tournament.

Honduras put five past New Caledonia in the other Group E fixture to maintain their hopes of reaching the last 16.

The event in India is due to continue tomorrow with another four matches.

Mali take on New Zealand and Turkey play Paraguay in Group B before Ghana entertain hosts India and the United States go up against Colombia.