MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The game between Norway and England had several inherently exciting buzzwords attached to it: World Cup; quarterfinal; golden boot race; Miami (even if that one was not wholly accurate); Saturday. Yet when the two teams hit the pitch on a hot and humid evening in South Florida, entertainment was not what either side strove for even as England notched a 2-1 win to reach their second World Cup semifinal in the last three editions.
Instead, the two teams took a conservative approach in one of the most anticipated games of the tournament so far, despite boasting two of the game’s greatest goalscorers in Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, the former on seven goals and the latter on six, well within reaching distance of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe with eight each. Neither Kane nor Haaland were invisible, but neither player was actually front and center on Saturday, either. Safety seemed to be the priority, the tight margins of making or missing a World Cup semifinal perhaps weighing on everyone a little bit too much.
A tepid World Cup quarterfinal played out tepidly at Hard Rock Stadium, both Norway and England eager to slip into an admirable and effective defensive shape, but almost forgetting that there was a job to do on the other end. For 28 long minutes at the start of the game, there was not a single shot to be had, though Kane finally put that streak to an end with a miss shortly after the water break. It was only then the game livened up because Norway, out of nowhere, decided to play soccer.
Naturally, Haaland was the first to have a meaningful crack at goal and forced Jordan Pickford into a save that brought the England fans a sigh of relief. The relaxation period did not last very long. Seconds later, Norway charged at England’s goal again and Andreas Schjelderup’s cross instead turned into a goal that gave the first-time World Cup quarterfinalists a 1-0 lead.
It was the shot in the arm the game needed because England, the favorites to win the game and one of the oddsmakers’ choice to win the World Cup, learned their lesson the hard way. They, too, should actually play some soccer in the hopes of finding an equalizer. After a full of shots from Norway that only added to England’s stress, the idea that doing the most obvious thing possible might actually reap some rewards finally sunk in. Jude Bellingham led the charge, eventually executing a wonderful move after Anthony Gordon sent the ball in his direction. It was the moment of star quality this game had waited for and an all-important moment for the first half to end on. Surely, these teams would want to finish things off in 90 minutes and had realized a little bit of progressive passing might go a long way.
Right?
The level scoreline served Norway and England’s unexciting tendencies just fine, setting up for a second half that was more drab than the first. The teams combined for 0.49 expected goals in between the half-hour mark and the halftime break, but in the entirety of the second half, they collectively drummed up 0.28 expected goals from seven shots. Norway’s most notable opportunities came from set pieces, their corners only so inspiring. Haaland and Kane were not getting particularly involved, either, the Norway goalscorer only notching one shot while the England captain didn’t register a single one after the break.
That did not change, somehow, as the prospect of extra time on a painfully muggy day loomed. The chosen monotony of the game had set in. Extra time is what these teams had earned, their risk-averse nature a natural punishment for their selections during a World Cup that has otherwise been defined by outright entertainment.
Thankfully, Bellingham seemed not to get the memo. A game crying out for a star got one in the midfielder, who now has four goals and an assist in five games at his first World Cup, even if his second on Saturday was not as brilliant as his first. It was a classic example of why stars matter, though – goalkeeper Orjan Nylard’s blunder by failing to catch a long shot from Morgan Rogers that darted towards him early on in extra time meant it landed straight in Bellingham’s path. Without an opposing defender in sight, Bellingham had an easy job in front of him and sent the ball into the back of an empty net.
It was enough for England to finally wrestle some semblance of control over the game, but really, the rest of the match offered a stark reminder of which team was the newcomers to the World Cup quarterfinals and which one was not. Norway’s defensive resolve melted away in one go, and with Haaland out for the final 15 minutes of the game, they would need to search for goals elsewhere. Unfortunately, the combination of events allowed England head coach Thomas Tuchel to slip into his conservative playing style one last time, not that he had ever fully abandoned it. Norway no longer had their greatest threat on the pitch and even if they did, he had been more or less neutralized some time ago. Preserving a narrow lead was finally the practical choice, even if it was not for 90 minutes.
England’s uninspiring approach is not exactly a losing one, the cringeworthy adage about defense winning championships exists for a reason, after all, and Tuchel’s job is to win a World Cup. Nearly a week after an inspiring 3-2 win at Estadio Azteca against tournament co-hosts, though, this game devolved into something else entirely. It was a sign that they were channeling a title-winning mode, but one that ran the risk of devaluing a winning strategy by prioritizing the desire to simply not lose. Time will tell if it proves costly, they will like their chances against Argentina, the current world champions with a shaky defense and a habit for dramatic games, or Switzerland, a newcomer to the World Cup quarterfinals who will certainly be the underdogs if they face England in the semifinals on Wednesday. Thirty extra minutes on the field when they will have just three days in between this game and the next is definitely not ideal, especially if their next opponent can finish the job in 90.
This was not the first important match whose significance resulted in a dull showing from both teams, nor will it be the last. The game was not a classic nor did it have to be, even if it would have been fun if it was. England, though, reached the World Cup semifinals by resting on their laurels — and knowing they could afford to do so.
