“Bellingham Heroics Send England Into World Cup Semi-Finals After 2-1 Win Over Norway”
England dig deep to come from behind and book a semi-final spot.
England battled to a dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway to storm into the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, with Jude Bellingham once again proving the difference-maker.
The Scandinavians took the lead in the 36th minute. A sloppy pass from Harry Kane was picked off by Martin Ødegaard, who found Andreas Schjelderup on the left. The winger drilled past Jordan Pickford to give Norway the advantage.
In doing so, Schjelderup became the first Norwegian player ever to score in a FIFA World Cup quarter-final.
England responded before the break. In the 45th minute, Anthony Gordon picked out Jude Bellingham, who fired home to level the game. Kane thought he had put England ahead in added time, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Norway believed they had retaken the lead nine minutes into the second half, but the goal was chalked off. Erling Haaland was penalised for a foul on an England player before the corner was taken, and the referee ordered the corner to be retaken.
The game remained 1-1 after 90 minutes, forcing extra time in a tense quarter-final.
Just 2 minutes into extra time, substitute Morgan Rogers saw his shot parried by Norway keeper Ørjan Nyland. The rebound fell to Jude Bellingham, who made no mistake to smash in the winner.
It was enough to send England through and crown Bellingham Man of the Match.
Bellingham On Fire
The 23-year-old is now carrying England’s attack:
⚽ vs Croatia
⚽🅰️ vs Panama
⚽⚽ vs Mexico
⚽⚽ vs Norway
Bellingham: “Tuchel saying we didn’t play well? Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in these conditions against Haaland, Ødegaard, Nusa and Sørloth… You have to put things into context and create a positive atmosphere around the team.”
“Yeah? well, WHATEVER. It’s difficult out there… All the players have put in a very tough shift. My appreciation goes out to them.”
Thomas Tuchel was less impressed: “I am not happy. The way we played was sloppy, we made a lot of technical mistakes. It’s nothing to do with mentality. We need to play better…”
England showed resilience, fight, and a match-winner in Bellingham to overcome a talented Norway side.
Next up: a World Cup semi-final, with the Three Lions now just two games from glory.