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FT: Norway 1, England 2
120' England are in the top four! The team coached by Thomas Tuchel will now face the winner of the game between Argentina and Switzerland!
For the second time in the last three World Cups, England are through to the semifinals. The Three Lions trailed Norway 1-0 in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Miami, but they roared back to level the game on the stroke of halftime and win it in extra time 2-1, with Jude Bellingham scoring both goals.
After his two-goal performance against Mexico in the round of 16, the Real Madrid superstar did it again, popping up at the most opportune times to lift his team into the next round.
Norway took a shock lead in the 36th minute when Andreas Schjelderup, brought into the starting XI, found the net from a tight angle, with his effort, possibly a cross attempt, rattling off the post before going in. England boss Thomas Tuchel and his staff were unhappy about the goal, and captain Harry Kane appealed for a foul in the buildup while the ball hit the back of the net, but the goal stood.
England leveled things up just before the break through Bellingham, as Elliot Anderson found Anthony Gordon, who crossed it in for Bellingham to finish with some sharp movement and clinical finishing. However, the goal possibly sholdn't have stood as replay showed the ball hit the camera cable above the pitch on Orjan Nyland's goal kick just before Bellingham scored, and FIFA rules state it should have been whistled dead for outside interference, but officials missed it in real time, resulting in the 1-1 scoreline at the break.
In the second half, both teams had their chances, though Norway were closest, hitting a header off the crossbar that had Jordan Pickford beat, but as the second half went on, the teams visibly tired in the Miami heat and humidity, sending the game into extra time.
That's when Bellingham did something basic that is often overlooked, following up a shot. And he did, catching Norway's defense sleeping in the 93rd minute, as Morgan Rogers' long shot was misheld by Norway's Nyland, allowing him to slot it home for the would-be winner.
With the result, England will face either Argentina or Switzerland in the second semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.
The dream continues
England haven't won this thing since 1966. That's not a typo. Sixty years. Really, it's been 60 years since they've won anything on th senior men's side. An entire English population has been born, grown up, had kids of their own, all without seeing the Three Lions lift a World Cup. So yeah, when Wednesday's semifinal rolls around against whoever survives Argentina-Switzerland, this isn't just another game.
This is the closest England have been to erasing six decades of hurt since Gareth Southgate's side made this same stage back in 2018, only to fall short. Tuchel's group has already matched that. Now it's about going one better and avoiding that gut-wrenching feeling of letting their country down, again. A portion of this England squad have already had their hearts ripped out twice on the big stage. Back-to-back Euro final losses, on penalties to Italy in 2021 and then to Spain in 2024, both absolute gut punches for a country that treats this sport like a religion. So this World Cup semifinal isn't happening in a vacuum. It's happening for a fanbase that's watched their team get agonizingly close over and over, only to come up empty over and over. Win Wednesday, and England are one match from finally, finally putting an end to the wait. Lose, and it's another chapter in the same painful book of shortcomings.
