With Jude Bellingham as their hero, England fought back to beat Norway 2-1 after extra time and reach the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup.

The quarter-final was played in Miami before a crowd of some 65,000, and in the last four England will face Argentina or Switzerland on Wednesday (15 July, 22:00) in Atlanta.

With an excellent defensive setup, Norway ceded the initiative to England, who enjoyed largely fruitless possession in the first half. Although England looked threatening, they failed to fashion a single clear chance in the opening 30 minutes.

Ståle Solbakken’s side, by contrast, gave a warning with an Erling Haaland header in the 32nd minute before opening the scoring shortly afterwards. Sander Berge won the ball off Harry Kane in midfield and set up Andreas Schjelderup, who found the net with an unstoppable left-footed strike from a tight angle in the 36th minute, one of the finest goals of the tournament from the young Benfica winger.

England looked stunned, and it seemed they would go into the dressing room beaten. In first-half stoppage time (45+2), however, Jude Bellingham found a yard of space and levelled with a superb individual effort, placing the ball home from a tight angle. England’s most influential player at this World Cup had rescued them from a difficult position.

In the 56th minute, a goal from Torbjørn Heggem was ruled out for an attacking foul by Haaland on Elliot Anderson, in a highly contentious decision. The introduction of Oscar Bobb and Antonio Nusa changed the flow of the game, with Norway now dominant and causing serious problems for Thomas Tuchel’s players.

In the 76th minute, a header from David Møller Wolfe came back off the crossbar, and in the rebound Kristoffer Ajer was clearly pushed by Ezri Konsa before scoring, but the referee and the video assistant referee (VAR) agreed there was no infringement.

In extra time, the Three Lions came out with real determination, created chances, and in the 93rd minute Bellingham pounced on a loose save from Ørjan Nyland, sliding the ball home to restore his side’s lead. The Vikings had no reply, sending England into the semi-finals eight years after Russia 2018 and 36 years after Italy 1990.

Will they manage to achieve something better than fourth place this time? Their fans, in any case, are singing “it’s coming home” and dreaming of moments from 1966.

Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

Yellow cards: Ajer

England (Thomas Tuchel): Pickford, Konsa (89′ Rogers), Stones, Guéhi, O’Reilly (86′ Spence), Rice (46′ Eze), Anderson, Bellingham (111′ Burn), Madueke (46′ Saka), Gordon (71′ James), Kane

Norway (Ståle Solbakken): Nyland, Ryerson (60′ Aursnes), Ajer, Heggem (91′ Østigård), Wolfe (90′ Pedersen), Berg, Berge, Ødegaard, Schjelderup (67′ Nusa), Sørloth (67′ Bobb), Haaland (106′ Strand Larsen)