England has moved one step closer to a first World Cup final in 60 years with a 2-1 win over Norway in Miami.
Jude Bellingham was the extra-time hero for the Three Lions amid the energy-sapping conditions having earlier cancelled out Andreas Schjelderup’s shock opener.
The result punched England’s ticket to the semi-final, where they will face either defending champions Argentina or Switzerland.
It was a contest that did not quite mirror the drama that engulfed England’s 3-2 win over Mexico in the round of 16, but that’s not to say it was devoid of nail-biting tension.
Schjelderup gave Norway the lead in the 36th minute with an attempted cross from the left that flew over Jordan Pickford and went in off the post.
The Norwegian star’s surprise at his effort going in was palpable, but few of a Norwegian persuasion cared.
Unfortunately for the Scandinavians, the goal only served to rile England up and it was Bellingham who made them pay for a brief lapse in concentration.
Anthony Gordon spotted Bellingham at the edge of Norway’s 18-yard box and fizzed a pass into his feet.
From there, the Real Madrid ace showed superb footwork to manoeuvre his way into the box and fire past Orjan Nyland.
There was some controversy as to whether the ball hit the spider-cam wires in the stadium prior to the strike, which would have ruled it out, but luckily for England, it remained.
Bellingham’s goal was one of the very few bright spots in an otherwise sluggish half from the Three Lions, prompting England boss Thomas Tuchel to haul off Declan Rice and Noni Madueke, who especially struggled to make his mark.
Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka came on in the duo’s place but despite the change in personnel, it was Norway who fired the first major warning shot of the second stanza.
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Torbjorn Heggem had the ball in the back of the net in the 57th minute to spark joyous scenes in the sea of Norwegian supporters behind the goal.
However, the goal was ruled out following a VAR intervention as Erling Haaland was adjudged to have pushed Elliot Anderson to the ground.
Norway again had England sweating nervously when Kristoffer Ajer thumped a header against the crossbar.
But the Three Lions ultimately held on to push the contest into extra time and it was Bellingham who stepped up to the plate yet again, pouncing on Nyland’s error after he spilled Morgan Rogers’ strike from distance.
Below, legendary talkSPORT broadcaster Adrian Durham has rated and slated every England player.
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For whom the Bell tolls
Unsurprisingly Durham singled out Bellingham as his man of the match, awarding him a 10/10.
“He must be shattered after carrying most of his teammates,” Durham said.
The midfielder is now up to six goals for the World Cup thanks to his double against Norway.
But what makes his tournament tally extra special is the fact Bellingham has equalled Gary Lineker for the most non-penalty goals scored for England at a single major international tournament.
At 23 years and 12 days, he is also the youngest player since Pele in the 1958 World Cup to score two-plus goals in successive knockout games.
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Mad world
At the opposite end of the performance spectrum in Durham’s eyes was Madueke’s display.
Stationed out on the right flank, Madueke made little impact and it was reflected in the fact he was hauled off at half time.
Durham was ruthless in his review of Madueke and gave him a 1/10.
He simply stated of the Arsenal man’s display: “Do I need to explain?”
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Citizen Kane
Another player Durham was rather critical of was skipper Harry Kane.
The Bayern Munich ace worked tirelessly up front and played the entire 120 minutes.
However, Kane had few clear-cut chances against Norway, with Bellingham left to do the goalscoring work.
Durham awarded Kane a 4/10, stating: “Poor from the captain.
“Can’t question the effort, but virtually no quality.”
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Durham: England are through, but they ‘can’t be that bad again’
Although the performance demonstrated England are still yet to click into gear, Durham was delighted the team got over the line yet again.
However, if the Three Lions are to put on a similar display in the semi-final, Durham fears the team will be ‘humiliated’.
“We’re still in it,” Durham said at full-time.
“Thank you Jude Bellingham. We owe you so much at this World Cup. What a human being he is.
“I wonder how Tuchel’s mum feels about him now, I flipping love him.
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“That was poor from England, they’ve got to learn from that, they can’t be that bad again, otherwise, they won’t just go out, they’ll be humiliated In the semi-final.
“England have got to get better, and Norway will be looking back on this with so many regrets.
“1-0 up, the better side for the vast majority of the game, how they haven’t made it through I actually don’t know.
“And they took Haaland off, they needed a goal and took Haaland off, I don’t understand it sometimes to be honest with you.
“But all that matters Is that England have got through, they’ve got to put it behind them, they’ve got to get better.”
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