Bellingham's Brace Fires England Past Norway and Into the World Cup Semi-Finals

Jude Bellingham delivered a match-winning performance as England came from behind to defeat Norway 2-1 after extra time, booking their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals. Battling through the relentless heat and suffocating humidity of Miami, Thomas Tuchel's side showed resilience, character and composure to overturn a fiercely contested quarter-final.
The opening half-hour offered little attacking football, with both teams locked in a tactical battle and struggling to create meaningful opportunities. Once Norway settled into the contest, however, they struck with clinical precision. In the 36th minute, Andreas Schjelderup collected the ball inside the left side of the penalty area before curling a superb finish into the top corner beyond the helpless Jordan Pickford.
The Scandinavians had opportunities to extend their advantage but failed to make them count. That missed chance proved costly. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Jude Bellingham burst forward with purpose, cut inside from the left and calmly slotted his finish into the far bottom corner to level the score and hand England a crucial psychological boost before the interval.
Norway emerged after the break full of intent. Jordan Pickford produced an excellent save to tip a dangerous delivery from Alexander Sørloth over the crossbar before Leo Skiri Østigård Heggem thought he had restored Norway's lead from a corner. However, following a VAR review, the goal was ruled out for a foul by Erling Haaland in the build-up.
Ståle Solbakken responded by introducing fresh legs in the shape of Antonio Nusa and Oscar Bobb, injecting renewed energy into Norway's attack. The pressure continued to mount, and David Wolfe came agonisingly close to putting his side back in front, only to see his powerful header crash against the crossbar following another dangerous set-piece.
Extra time belonged to England. Just three minutes into the additional period, Morgan Rogers unleashed a fierce long-range effort that the Norwegian goalkeeper could only parry into the danger area. Reacting quickest, Jude Bellingham pounced on the rebound to score his second goal of the night and complete a dramatic comeback that secured England's place in the last four of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
World Cup 2026
Norway - England 1:2 (1:1)
Goals: Schjelderup, 36 (1:0); Bellingham, 45 (1:1); Bellingham, 93 (1:2)
Norway: Nyland; Heggem (Ostigard, 91); Wolfe (Holmgren Pedersen, 90); Ajer; Ryerson (Aursnes, 60); Berg P.; Berge; Odegaard; Schjelderup (Nusa, 68); Håland E. (Strand Larsen, 106); Sørloth (Bobb, 68)
Substitution: Aursnes (from 60); Bobb (from 68); Nusa (from 68); Holmgren Pedersen (from 90); Ostigard (from 91); Strand Larsen (from 106)
Bench: Tangvik; Selvik; Langås; Falchener; Bjorkan; Thorstvedt; Aasgaard T.; Hauge; Thorsby
England: Pickford; Konsa (Rogers M., 89); Stones; Guehi; Rice (Eze, 46); Anderson E.; Madueke (Saka B., 46); O'Reilly (Spence D., 86); Bellingham (Burn, 111); Kane; Gordon A. (James R., 71)
Substitution: Saka B. (from 46); Eze (from 46); James R. (from 71); Spence D. (from 86); Rogers M. (from 89); Burn (from 111)
Bench: Henderson D.; Trafford; Chalobah; Henderson; Mainoo; Watkins; Rashford; Toney I.