Norway 1-2 England: Schjelderup 36; Bellingham 45+2, 93 et
When England needed a superhero to save them from the Vikings there was Jude Bellingham. Not all heroes wear capes; sometimes they wear football jerseys. The midfielder delivered first to cancel out Andreas Schjelderup’s first-half opener, before pouncing after Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland spilled the ball early in extra time to secure a 2-1 victory.
It means England reach the World Cup semi-finals again having last appeared in 2018, when they lost to Croatia. This time they will face either Argentina or Switzerland for a place in the final.
Tuchel had urged his players before kick-off to embrace the knockout stage without fear, but England spent long periods struggling to impose themselves against opponents appearing in their first World Cup quarter-final. Norway looked the more coherent side for much of the contest and twice came close to regaining the lead after Bellingham’s equaliser, only for England to survive before their superman settled the tie.
The Three Lions’ first warning arrived when John Stones misplaced a back pass under pressure from Erling Haaland, forcing Jordan Pickford to react. Norway grew in confidence from that moment and deservedly moved ahead after Patrick Berg dispossessed Harry Kane high up the pitch.
The ball eventually reached Schjelderup on the left, whose attempted cross instead veered towards goal and drifted beyond Pickford and into the far top corner. Kane sat on the ground and protested that he was fouled, in a bid to have the goal ruled out. His appeals fell on deaf ears.
England looked vulnerable and Alexander Sorloth really should have passed to Haaland to double Norway’s lead. Instead he squandered the chance. Martin Odegaard also tested Pickford before Stones recovered impressively to cut out a dangerous counterattack.
It seemed England would go into the break trailing, but then there was Bellingham to restore parity with a one-man action. Collecting Anthony Gordon’s pass inside the area, he skipped beyond Torbjorn Heggem before driving a low finish across Nyland. Kane briefly thought he had completed the comeback moments later but he had gone too quickly and the goal was ruled out for offside.
Norway seized the initiative after the restart. Heggem had a goal disallowed following a VAR review after Haaland was penalised for pushing Elliot Anderson in the build-up, before Kristoffer Ajer pinged the crossbar from a corner. But England regained control and a stalemate led to extra time.
Kane forced Nyland into an excellent save but minutes later the goalkeeper then failed to properly claim or push away Rogers’ shot from distance and Bellingham was there to convert. England might have wrapped up victory when Spence was given a penalty, but after another VAR review it was cancelled. In the dying minutes, it was still Tuchel’s side with the better chances, Nyland denying Bukayo Saka and then producing a double save from Spence and the Arsenal winger before the whistle signalled relief and victory for England.
