Bellingham’s extra-time brace sends England past Norway and into the World Cup semi-finals

England are into the World Cup semi-finals, and once again it was Jude Bellingham who dragged them there. His extra-time finish saw off a stubborn Norway side 2-1 in Miami on Saturday, a night that swung on a mistake, a missed lead and the tournament’s form player refusing to let the game slip away.

Norway had the better of the opening half-hour and took the lead through Andreas Schjelderup, whose effort looped over Jordan Pickford after Harry Kane was dispossessed in midfield. For a while it looked like the plan Erling Haaland’s side had built around soaking up pressure might just hold. Then Bellingham arrived, as he keeps doing.

Bellingham drags England back

The equaliser came right on the stroke of half-time. Anthony Gordon rolled a cutback into the box and Bellingham took a touch before firing low past Orjan Nyland, a goal that changed the mood of a game England had been chasing. It was the kind of intervention that has defined his tournament, and it sent the sides in level at the break rather than a goal down.

The second half brought a scare. Torbjorn Heggem thought he had put Norway back in front from a corner, only for the goal to be ruled out after Haaland was penalised for a push on his Manchester City team-mate Elliot Anderson. Norway felt hard done by. England, having ridden their luck, grew into the contest as the heat and tired legs pulled both teams toward extra time.

The decisive moment

The winner arrived early in extra time. Morgan Rogers let fly from distance, Nyland could not hold the shot, and Bellingham was quickest to react, prodding home the rebound to make it 2-1. It was his second of the night and moved him to six goals for the tournament, the sort of return that turns a good player into the story of a World Cup.

Norway pushed for a leveller, and England thought they might have a penalty of their own late on, but the appeal was waved away and they saw the game out. Haaland, so dangerous through the group stage, leaves the tournament without the goal his talent probably deserved on the night.

Who England face next

The win takes England into the last four, where they will meet the winner of Argentina and Switzerland on July 15 in Atlanta. This is a side that has found a way to win the ugly games as well as the pretty ones, and in Bellingham it has a player who keeps turning up when it matters most. On this evidence, nobody left in the draw will fancy facing them.

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