Bellingham the saviour again as England edge Haaland's Norway in extra time Match report

Bellingham the saviour again as England edge Haaland's Norway in extra time

KFF Desk ·🗓 Sun, 12 Jul · 00:00 EAT ·2 min read · World Cup

England reached the World Cup semi-finals with a nervy 2-1 extra-time win over Norway in Miami, Jude Bellingham scoring twice to erase Andreas Schjelderup's early opener. Bellingham levelled in first-half stoppage time and prodded home the winner three minutes into extra time after Ørjan Nyland spilled a Morgan Rogers strike. Haaland's Norway are out; a self-critical Thomas Tuchel called England "sloppy" but "lucky" to go through.

England are into the World Cup semi-finals, and they made desperately hard work of it. Jude Bellingham dragged them there almost single-handedly, a brace either side of ninety minutes sinking a brave Norway 2-1 after extra time in Miami. Thomas Tuchel called his side sloppy and admitted they were lucky, and on the night he was not wrong.

For an hour it was Norway who looked the likelier. On thirty-six minutes Andreas Schjelderup curled a cross-shot into the top corner to give the conquerors of Brazil a shock lead, and with Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard pulling strings, the Scandinavians dared to dream of the last four.

But England have Bellingham, and Bellingham has a habit of these nights. In first-half stoppage time he finished off a driving run after an Anthony Gordon assist to level, and the game swung. It could have swung back: Norway thought they had retaken the lead through Torbjørn Heggem in the second half, only for VAR to chalk it off after Haaland was penalised for a foul on Elliot Anderson. A huge let-off.

So to extra time, and to the moment that settled it. Three minutes in, Ørjan Nyland spilled a fierce strike from substitute Morgan Rogers, and there, quickest to react as he so often is, was Bellingham to prod home. The Real Madrid man, England's saviour once more.

It was, in truth, unconvincing. The shot counts were near-level, England laboured for long spells, and Tuchel's post-match honesty told its own story. There was history too: Jordan Pickford became England's most-capped World Cup goalkeeper with his eighteenth appearance. Through they are, but they will need to be far better in the last four.

For Norway, it is a gallant, gutting end. Ståle Solbakken's golden generation, who had already toppled Brazil and announced Haaland on the biggest stage, bow out in the quarter-finals with their heads high and Haaland's tournament ending on seven goals. They leave as one of the stories of this World Cup.

England march on to a semi-final against the winner of Argentina and Switzerland, with the other last-four tie already set as France against Spain. For Kenya and the neutrals, this was tension and quality and controversy in one pot, lit up by a genuine superstar. Bellingham ndiye shujaa wa England tena, na safari ya Haaland imefika mwisho: Bellingham is England's hero once again, and Haaland's journey has ended. Follow the run-in on our bracket.

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