MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jude Bellingham sent England into the World Cup semifinals with two goals as the Three Lions overturned a 1-0 deficit to seal a 2-1 extra-time win and end Norway hopes of a first-ever last four appearance in the tournament.
The Real Madrid star is now tied with England teammate Harry Kane with six goals in this tournament, behind the eight of France‘s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina‘s Lionel Messi. He scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-hosts Mexico.
His goals gave England a second semifinal appearance in three World Cups — a game that will see them play the winner of Argentina versus Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday.
England have not reached the World Cup final since their only triumph in the competition as host nation in 1966.
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Andreas Schjelderup‘s 36th minute opener — a left-foot shot that caught out England keeper Jordan Pickford by crashing in off the far post — gave Norway a deserved lead before Bellingham hauled England level in first-half stoppage time.
England’s Kane and Norway’s Torbjørn Heggem then had goals disallowed for offside and foul play respectively as the two teams fought out a tense quarterfinal in oppressive heat in Miami.
But after the two sides could not be separated during 90 minutes, Bellingham gave England the lead with a close-range goal three minutes into extra time.
With both sets of players visibly struggling with the conditions, Norway coach Ståle Solbakken surprisingly replaced striker Erling Haaland with Jørgen Strand Larsen at halftime in extra time.
England held on for the victory in a game that featured several controversial incidents.
Moments before Bellingham evened the score, a Norway goal kick resulted in the ball appearing to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England’s Elliot Anderson.
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The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the cable, play would have stopped and a drop ball would have been utilized to determine possession.
England were also awarded a penalty when leading 2-1 in extra time after Djed Spence went down under a challenge from Oscar Bobb but the decision was reversed after a video review.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
