England beat Norway 2-1 after extra time in the 2026 World Cup quarter-final in Miami. Jude Bellingham scored both goals. The result ends Erling Haaland and Norway's tournament and puts England into the semi-finals.
England beat Norway 2-1 after extra time in the 2026 World Cup quarter-final in Miami. Jude Bellingham scored both goals. The result ends Erling Haaland and Norway's tournament and puts England into the semi-finals.
Norway's lead came from nowhere. Andreas Schjelderup's attempted cross deceived Jordan Pickford and dropped in off the far post in the 36th minute. Jude Bellingham replied in first-half stoppage time, controlling Anthony Gordon's pass before firing into the far corner.
The game went to extra time after Bellingham headed a late chance wide. He made amends within minutes, poking home after Orjan Nyland spilled Morgan Rogers' shot into his path. That settled a tie that had swung on two contested moments.
Norway thought they had regained the lead in the 55th minute when Torbjorn Heggem scored from a corner. Referee Clément Turpin reviewed the play after a VAR intervention and ruled it out for a foul by Erling Haaland on Elliot Anderson before the ball was live.
Rather than a goal kick, Turpin ordered the corner retaken. The call followed one of the IFAB interpretations approved for the tournament, covering holding and blocking inside the box at set pieces.
Before the World Cup, the IFAB had explained the change. It confirmed VAR could flag "clear offences committed by the attacking team before the ball is in play at a corner kick or free kick that have a direct impact on a goal, penalty kick, or disciplinary sanction."
There was extra intrigue in the incident. Haaland and Anderson are set to become teammates after Manchester City completed a €135 million move for the midfielder from Nottingham Forest.
Bellingham's leveller drew protests from Norway. Footage appeared to show the ball's trajectory change before it dropped to Anderson, who fed Gordon on the left for the assist. Under the Laws of the Game, contact with an overhead camera cable should force a stoppage and a dropped ball.
FIFA rejected the claim. It posted: "Before England's goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the Connected Ball showed no peak in the 'heartbeat of the ball' when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball." The matchball's chip relays data directly to the VAR system.
Norway's grievances went beyond the scoreline. Haaland's father, Alf-Inge Haaland, posted: "Well done Bellingham and referee."
Norway exit at the quarter-final stage in their first appearance at this point of a World Cup. Ståle Solbakken's side had reached the last eight by finishing second in Group I, then beating Ivory Coast and Brazil. Solbakken had benched Antonio Nusa for the England tie, only the second tournament start for Schjelderup.
Harry Kane also had a strike ruled out for offside on the stroke of half-time, and Kristoffer Ajer struck the woodwork with a header. England's win sends them into the semi-finals, where they meet Argentina.
