England has advanced to the World Cup semifinals after a 2-1 victory over Norway, with Jude Bellingham scoring the decisive goal in extra time. The match, held in Miami Gardens, Florida, saw Bellingham net his second goal of the game to secure England’s first semifinal appearance since 2018.
Bellingham’s equalizer came late in the first half, following an opening goal by Norway’s Andreas Schjelderup. The Real Madrid star’s performance in the quarterfinal adds to his tournament tally, placing him alongside teammate Harry Kane with six goals. This achievement follows his two goals in the round of 16 match where England defeated co-host Mexico.
Match Highlights and Key Moments
The game began with a moment of silence in remembrance of Jayden Adams, a 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa, whose passing was announced earlier on Saturday. Once play resumed, England initially dominated possession, but Norway managed to stun their opponents.
Andreas Schjelderup, making only his second start of the tournament, opened the scoring for Norway in the 36th minute. His shot struck the right post before finding the back of the net, giving Norway an unexpected lead. Schjelderup, who had previously assisted both of Erling Haaland‘s goals in Norway’s round of 16 win against Brazil, celebrated by stretching his arms wide as teammates lifted him.
England responded with an equalizer from Jude Bellingham. Moments before his goal, a Norway goal kick appeared to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing near England’s Elliot Anderson. Bellingham capitalized on the situation, beating goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. According to tournament rules, if the ball’s contact with the cable had been noticed, play would have been stopped for a drop ball.
Norway, reaching their first quarterfinals in this tournament, nearly took a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute. Torbjørn Heggem put a rebound past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. However, following a video review, the goal was disallowed due to a foul by Erling Haaland in the box. Haaland, who had seven goals in the tournament prior to this match, was also denied by Pickford on a point-blank header earlier in the first half. He was substituted in the second half of extra time for Jorgen Strand Larsen.
England’s Path Forward
With this victory, England, the 1966 World Cup winner, is now one win away from reaching the title match. The team will face either Argentina or Switzerland in the semifinals. Those two nations were scheduled to play their quarterfinal match on Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
In their quarterfinal match, Argentina took an early lead against Switzerland. Alexis Mac Allister scored in the 10th minute from a corner kick delivered by Lionel Messi. This goal marked Messi’s tenth goal involvement in the tournament. Despite their lead, Argentina has conceded at least one goal in their last three matches and in five of their previous six knockout-phase matches in the World Cup, dating back to 2022. Switzerland, playing without the injured Johan Manzambi, faced challenges in creating significant threats on Emi Martinez‘s goal.
The match between England and Norway concluded with Bellingham’s second goal, securing England’s progression to the next stage of the tournament.
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Source: montreal.citynews.ca
