Florida, July 12: England advanced to the FIFA World Cup semi-finals after defeating a resilient Norway side 2-1, ending a historic run by the tournament first-timers. The English squad will now prepare for a Wednesday semifinal clash against either Switzerland or Argentina, keeping alive their hopes of reaching a first final since 1966.
The match highlighted England’s newfound ability to fight back from behind, a trait that escaped the national team for decades. Before this tournament, England had failed to win a single knockout game after conceding first since 1966. This squad has now overturned a deficit twice in just three matches, following an earlier scare where Harry Kane saved the team from an embarrassing exit against the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Norwegian side looked poised for another upset early on, building on the powerful performances that carried them to the quarter-finals. Andreas Schjelderup capitalised on an early chance, drilling the ball past the English goalkeeper to claim an unexpected lead.
England found their equalizer through Jude Bellingham, who mirrored his previous double against Mexico with a spectacular individual effort just before the break.
The turning point of the second half arrived when Norway had a potential second goal overturned by a controversial VAR review, adding to the growing list of disputed officiating decisions in this edition of the tournament.
Seizing the momentum, Bellingham scored his second of the evening and his sixth overall in the tournament to seal the victory.
“The spirit in this camp is completely different now,” an English team official declared during the post-match briefing. “Going a goal down used to panic us, but this group simply believes we can turn any game around.”
