England booked their place in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals after Jude Bellingham delivered another match-winning performance, scoring twice to inspire a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway in Miami.
The quarter-final clash was a tense and evenly contested affair, with Norway drawing first blood in the 36th minute. Andreas Schjelderup’s dipping strike caught England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford off guard and found the back of the net, giving the Scandinavian side a deserved lead.
However, England responded at the perfect moment. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Anthony Gordon slipped a precise pass into the path of Jude Bellingham, who kept his composure to slot past Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland and restore parity before the interval.
England manager Thomas Tuchel reshuffled his side at half-time, withdrawing Declan Rice, who had been struggling with illness and injury, alongside Noni Madueke. Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka were introduced as England looked to seize control of the contest.
Norway remained dangerous after the restart and came close to regaining the lead. Torbjørn Heggem thought he had scored, only for the goal to be ruled out after Erling Haaland was penalised for a needless shove on Elliot Anderson during the build-up. David Møller Wolfe also came agonisingly close, heading against the crossbar as England survived another scare.
With the game heading towards penalties, Bellingham once again proved to be England’s hero. Three minutes into extra-time, Morgan Rogers forced Nyland into a save, but the Norwegian goalkeeper could only parry the ball into the path of Bellingham, who reacted quickest to fire home the decisive winner.
The brace takes Bellingham’s tally to six goals at the tournament, drawing him level with Harry Kane and leaving him just one behind Haaland, whose World Cup campaign ended with Norway’s elimination.
England have now reached their third World Cup semi-final since lifting the trophy 60 years ago. They will be aiming to reach another final after falling short in their previous semi-final appearances, losing to West Germany in 1990 and Croatia in 2018.
The Three Lions will now face either Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-finals in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 15, as they continue their pursuit of a second World Cup title.
