Bellingham Brace Sends England Past Norway in Extra Time to Reach World Cup Semifinals

Jude Bellingham scored twice to drag England past Norway 2-1 after extra time in a sweltering quarterfinal at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, sending Thomas Tuchel's side into the semifinals for the second time in three tournaments.

Norway broke the deadlock in the 36th minute when Andreas Schjelderup pounced after Harry Kane was dispossessed in midfield, his effort looping over Jordan Pickford after a setup from Martin Ødegaard. England were fortunate not to fall further behind before the break, with Alexander Sørloth hesitating on a promising two-on-one break rather than releasing an unmarked Erling Haaland.

England leveled things right at the end of the first half. Anthony Gordon drove in from the left and cut the ball back, and Bellingham shifted it onto his right foot before firing low past Ørjan Nyland to make it 1-1 in first-half stoppage time.

The second half turned into a grind in the Florida heat and humidity, with both sides visibly tiring as the game wore on. Norway thought they'd retaken the lead when Torbjørn Heggem headed home from a corner, but the goal was ruled out after Haaland was penalized for shoving Elliot Anderson in the buildup. Chances dried up from there, and the match went to extra time still level at 1-1.

Tuchel had already made a double change at halftime, bringing on Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze for extra width and composure on the ball, with Reece James and Djed Spence added late to freshen up the back line. The moves paid off early in extra time. Nyland could only push a shot from substitute Morgan Rogers into the path of Bellingham, who turned it home to put England 2-1 ahead. 

Norway pushed hard for an equalizer in the closing stages, with Kristoffer Ajer heading against the bar and picking up a late booking as time ran out, while a late Spence penalty appeal was reviewed and turned down. England brought on Dan Burn to help see out the closing stages and hold on for the win.

By the Numbers

The match was close statistically, reflecting how tight the contest felt on the pitch. England held a modest edge in possession, at roughly 52-53 percent, and finished with 14 shots to Norway's 13, a near-identical output. The bigger separation came in accuracy: England put around eight shots on target compared with four or five for Norway, and created three clear-cut chances to Norway's one, converting two of them.

England also completed more passes at a higher accuracy rate and were sharper in the final third, getting into good areas more often and connecting on a higher share of their crosses and dribbles. Norway, for their part, were far from second-best across the board. They actually won the corner count and put in more tackles over the course of the match, a sign of how much sustained pressure they applied for long stretches, particularly after halftime. Nyland kept Norway in the tie with six saves, several of them difficult stops, before the extra-time breakthrough finally beat him.

Standout Performers

Bellingham was the easy choice for man of the match, scoring both England goals and adding heavy defensive work and ball-carrying on top of it, pushing his tournament total to six goals. 

Jude Bellingham with 4️⃣ MOTM Awards, 6 goals, 1 assist in 6 World Cup games. 🤩👑

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Magnificent. pic.twitter.com/4VCyXoEpCa

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 11, 2026

Spence also had a strong showing after coming on, contributing at both ends of the pitch. 

For Norway, Schjelderup and Nyland were both singled out as their best performers, Schjelderup for his goal and physical battles, and Nyland for repeatedly keeping Norway in the game.

What it Means

The win sends England into their third World Cup semifinal since their only title in 1966, following defeats at that stage to West Germany in 1990 and Croatia in 2018. They will face the winner of Argentina's quarterfinal against Switzerland for a place in the final.