By Daily Review Online
England booked a place in the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after Jude Bellingham scored twice in a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway in their quarterfinal clash at Miami Stadium on Saturday.
Norway, playing in their first-ever World Cup quarterfinal, stunned England by taking an early lead through Andreas Schjelderup in sweltering conditions in Miami.
However, Bellingham once again proved decisive for the Three Lions, levelling the score just before halftime with a brilliant solo effort after collecting Anthony Gordon’s pass and finishing with his weaker left foot.
England thought they had gone ahead before the break when Harry Kane found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The second half saw Norway threaten repeatedly, and Torbjorn Heggem appeared to have restored their lead before VAR disallowed the goal after Erling Haaland was penalised for a foul in the build-up.
Kristoffer Ajer then came close to winning it for Norway, rattling the crossbar as England struggled to cope with set pieces.
With both teams exhausted by the intense heat and humidity, the match went into extra time.
The decisive moment came when Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland failed to hold a long-range effort from substitute Morgan Rogers, allowing Bellingham to pounce on the rebound and score his sixth goal of the tournament.
England were later awarded a penalty, but VAR overturned the decision after ruling that Djed Spence had initiated the contact inside the box.
The victory sends Thomas Tuchel’s side into the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 2018, where they will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Argentina and Switzerland.
Despite the win, Tuchel admitted his side was below its best.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” the England manager said. “The result is fantastic because we are in the last four, but I’m not happy with the performance. We were sloppy, made too many technical mistakes and were lucky to come through. We need to play much better in the semifinal.”
For Norway, the defeat ended a memorable World Cup campaign, while Haaland’s run of scoring in 14 consecutive competitive internationals also came to an end against the country of his birth.