England march into World Cup semifinals after 120-minute thriller against Norway

Sunday, 12 July 2026

Jude Bellingham scored in the third minute of extra time to lift England past Norway 2-1 and into the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 2018.

Bellingham's goal was his second of the game – he also had an equaliser late in the first half. The Real Madrid star is now tied with England team-mate Harry Kane with six goals in this tournament, behind the eight of France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. He scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-hosts Mexico.

England, winners of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title match, are now one win away from getting there. The Three Lions will face either Argentina or Switzerland, who were set to play on Saturday night (Sunday afternoon NZT) in Kansas City, Missouri.

Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36th minute for Norway, a squad that reached their first quarterfinals and took the internet by storm with their“Viking row” and the charisma of 6ft 5in striker Erling Haaland.

Haaland – the Manchester City star who had seven goals in this tournament – was held without a goal for the first time in the World Cup. He was subbed out for Jorgen Strand Larsen in the second half of extra time.

Norway nearly went ahead 2-1 in the 56th minute when Torbjørn Heggem put a rebound past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. Following a video review, the goal was disallowed because of a foul by Haaland in the box. Haaland was also denied by Pickford on a point-blank header in the first half.

Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, fired a shot that cannoned off the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession to that point.

Bellingham’s equaliser from close range elicited a roar from that crowd that included Mick Jagger and England great David Beckham.

Schjelderup, who set up both of Haaland’s goals in Norway’s round of 16 win over Brazil, celebrated by stretching his arms wide and looking at the crowd as his team-mates lifted him onto their shoulders. Meanwhile, Kane sat near midfield, grabbing his leg and looking toward the officials. No foul was called.

Moments before Bellingham evened the score, a Norway goal kick resulted in the ball appearing to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England’s Elliot Anderson.

The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the cable, play would have stopped and a drop ball would have been utilised to determine possession.

There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honour of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa whose death was announced earlier Saturday.

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