Bellingham scores twice to lift England past Haaland and Norway 2-1 and into World Cup semifinals
1966 World Cup winners England are under pressure to return to the title clash and are now just one win away from reaching it. The 'Three Lions' will now face either Argentina or Switzerland; the match between these two teams is scheduled for Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
By ALANIS THAMES, MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP):- 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 equalizer late in the first half. The Real Madrid star is now tied with England teammate 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-host Mexico.
England, winner of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title match, is now one win away from getting there. The Three Lions will face either Argentina or Switzerland, who were set to play Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri.
Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36th minute for Norway, a squad that reached its first quarterfinals and took the internet by storm with its “Viking row” and the charisma of 6-foot-5 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 on Saturday 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 caromed off the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession to that point. Bellingham’s equalizer 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 teammates 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 utilized to determine possession.
There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honor of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa whose death was announced earlier Saturday.
