Norway 1-2 England
England have reached the World Cup 2026 semi-finals thanks to a Jude Bellingham double in a hard fought win over a battling Norway.
The Hard Rock Stadium in Miami was a sea of Vikings and Lions as the two near neighbours slugged it out over 120 minutes. The race for the Golden Boot has been the most competitive in years, with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe on eight goals each, with Harry Kane (7) and Erling Haaland (6) well in the hunt; but neither of the main men tonight were on target in a tense 120 minutes of football. Andreas Schjelderup gave Norway a shock lead before Bellingham levelled for England just before the half time break, and it was the Real Madrid man who pounced again at the beginning of extra time to take his tally up to six.
Highlights of the game
In sticky conditions in Miami much of the first half was played at walking pace; with England largely dominant though unable to get behind the stout Norwegian defence. Noni Madueke was wasteful when he found space on the wing, as was Declan Rice from set piece situations. But then as half time approached the game came alive…and some as the Three Lions were stunned when Schjelderup gave Norway a shock lead. Kane thought he’d been fouled in the build up, but VAR declined to intervene. The Benfica star cut inside Ezri Konsa and fired a cross, or a shot, beyond Jordan Pickford and in off the crossbar.
And that woke England up. In first half injury time Anthony Gordon found Bellingham in space and the Real Madrid man sidestepped his marker and smashed the ball home to level at the break.
Anyone who thought, or hoped, the Three Lions would kick on were disappointed in a second half in which England had precious few attacks and Norway looked dangerous from set-pieces, and came within a whisker of winning the game when Kristoffer Ajer’s header crashed back off the crossbar. And when Norway did have the ball in the net the goal was ruled out for a Haaland foul on Elliot Anderson.
And so to extra time and England did, in one minute, what they failed to do in the last 45, get a shot on goal, in fact two as Morgan Rogers effort was parried Bellingham pounced to make it 2-1. The Three Lions were invigorated and when Djed Spence made a surging run which was stopped by Oscar Bobb in the penalty area, the referee pointed to the spot, only for VAR to change his mind.
Norway looked leggy at the half time break in extra time and Haaland was withdrawn much to the relief of England fans, and their team pushed for a third, Bukayo Saka forcing a save from Orjan Nyland; and that was the end of the meaningful action as England held out for the win.
Key statistics
England were expected to dominate this game against a Norway side which has proved hard to shake off, beating Brazil in the quarter finals. The World Cup 2026 betting odds made the Vikings outsiders in the last eight but while the Three Lions had more possession Norway were ahead at half time in the shot count by five to four and three to two on target; and at 90 minutes that became four to two as extra time approached. England turned it round in extra time to eight shots on target to four and now 12 of England’s 13 goals in this World Cup have been scored by either Kane or Bellingham.
And the Three Lions have laid the ghost of 11th July’s gone past. On this date in 2018 England lost the World Cup semi-final to Croatia and on the 11th July 2021 they lost the European final to Italy.
What’s next?
Next up holders Argentina faced Switzerland at the Kansas City stadium and that will complete the four quarter finals. La Albiceleste are the clear favourites to navigate that match, but the Swiss will be no pushovers, seeing off another South American giant, Colombia, on penalties. Meanwhile Argentina had to pull out all the stops to beat Egypt 3-2 in their Round of 16 clash.
Spain’s win over Belgium on Friday night meant that two of the top four nations in the FIFA World Rankings had already booked their place in the last four to be played at the Dallas Stadium in Texas. France have toiled a little with wins over Paraguay and Morocco but then La Roja haven’t had it easy either, edging out Portugal and Belgium, both with late goals from Mikel Merino. It promises to be a scintillating clash and here at SBOTOP we’ll be all over it with previews, match odds and the up-to-date World Cup 2026 news as it arises.
And now England have joined the semi-final party; thanks to Jude.
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