Another big Bellingham night puts England into World Cup semifinals

MIAMI — Jude Bellingham struck twice as England came from a goal down to beat Norway 2-1 in extra time and reach the FIFA World Cup semifinals amid the sweltering Florida heat.

Temperatures felt like 113 degrees Fahrenheit at kickoff as high humidity engulfed Hard Rock Stadium to make this a brutal physical and emotional test.

After a cagey opening period short on chances, Norway capitalized on a positive spell as Andreas Schjelderup‘s 36th-minute effort eluded Jordan Pickford and found the net via Pickford’s left-hand post.

Norway pushed for a second goal — Alexander Sørloth wasted a glorious chance to play Erling Haaland clean through during a dangerous counterattack — but England equalized as Bellingham collected Anthony Gordon‘s pass, burst into the box and finished brilliantly on his left foot.

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Harry Kane had the ball in the net moments later but was flagged offside. Several Norway players left the field remonstrating with referee Clement Turpin as they felt the ball had hit the camera cable in the buildup to Bellingham’s goal. FIFA issued a statement to say it found no evidence from the ball — which has a microchip inside detecting contact — that there had been any interference.

Norway then had a goal disallowed 10 minutes into the second period as Haaland fouled Elliot Anderson before Torbjørn Heggem turned the ball into the net. With Declan Rice forced off at halftime, Martin Ødegaard began to dictate play in midfield, and Kristoffer Ajer hit the crossbar on 76 minutes as Norway looked the more likely to score.

But in the third minute of extra time, Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland could only push substitute Morgan Rogers‘ drive from outside the box back into a central position, and Bellingham reacted first to turn the ball home.

England thought they had a penalty when Djed Spence went down under a challenge from Oscar Bobb, but Turpin overturned the decision on VAR review, leaving Thomas Tuchel’s side to hang on in a tense finale. England will now face either Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday. — James Olley

Bellingham again England’s star man

Once again, England’s hero was Bellingham. He has had an unbelievable tournament, excelling in every match so far. He’s going to have to get a separate carry-on bag for all the Player of the Match trophies he has scooped up here at this World Cup. This has been the World Cup of the Kane-Bellingham double act, wrestling England through this tournament and dragging them into the semifinal.

Bellingham’s first goal was exceptional as he took Gordon’s pass, and with three touches, carved apart Norway’s defense and then neatly slotted home, shooting back across the goalkeeper into the net. It was class.

For so long England were struggling to find the breakthrough, but Bellingham, in the blink of an eye, managed to prise open the Norwegian defense. And then for the second, he was the first to pounce on the poor goalkeeping to score the winner.

He’s only 23 years old, but has already etched himself into English World Cup history. He has now scored the third-most World Cup goals for England’s men with seven, one ahead of Sir Geoff Hurst. He has also now tied Gary Lineker and Kane’s record of six goals in a single World Cup. There are several other records he now holds: the first Englishman with two multigoal returns in a single World Cup knockout stage, being one.

But apart from his unreal goal-scoring record, his work rate is unrelenting. He never stops. After the Mexico match, he said he was aware of his responsibility as a leader in the team, but also one of the group’s match winners. He emphasized the importance of the collective. But make no mistake about it. This is Bellingham’s World Cup. — Tom Hamilton

England pay price for progress

Saturday was the first time England have faced the heat at this tournament. Twice they played in air-conditioned stadia, twice they played in the rain, and the altitude of Mexico City was not exacerbated by high temperatures as storms delayed kickoff.

Nevertheless, the physical and mental toll on this group was evident in the aftermath of the Azteca and so it was again. At full time, several players including Kane and John Stones dropped to the floor out of sheer exhaustion.

The details will emerge later, but it appeared Rice, Nico O’Reilly and Ezri Konsa all went off through a combination of either injury or fatigue in these brutal conditions. Rice has been carrying a nerve issue throughout the tournament while Marc Guéhi had a tight hamstring after facing Mexico. There are various other fitness concerns — Bukayo Saka‘s troublesome Achilles, Stones’ lack of match sharpness and Anderson struggling with a minor muscular problem earlier in the tournament — which are starting to pile up after long, grueling seasons for many of this squad at club level.

The good news is Reece James returned and played 49 minutes here while England had four players one yellow card away from missing the semifinal through suspension: O’Reilly, Guéhi, Rice and Bellingham. Previous cards are wiped after the quarterfinals so only Quansah remains banned. And at least Atlanta is air-conditioned. — Olley

Haaland’s wonderful World Cup ends quietly

It was billed as Kane vs. Haaland. But both men were kept relatively quiet by the opposition defenses. Haaland was looking like his mischievous, arrow-focused best in the days before this match, but though he strolled around the pitch with his usual menacing quality, England only gave him a few opportunities to spring into action. They did a job on him, with Haaland finishing with just 21 touches of the ball (the fewest of any outfield player), just five successful passes from 13 attempts, and just two shots on goal, resulting in an xG of 0.11, by far his lowest of the World Cup.

The first effort was his header on Pickford’s goal in the 35th minute, which drew a decent save from the England keeper. And he had half a chance off the rebound resulting from Kristoffer Ajer‘s header, which struck the England crossbar in the 76th minute. But apart from that, England will be pleased with how they managed him.

Haaland could have had another clear-cut chance in the first half as Norway broke away with a 2-on-1in the 43rd minute. But Sørloth picked the wrong option, and England had time to regroup and blocked the Norwegian attack. Haaland was eventually substituted at the break in extra time for Jørgen Strand Larsen.

Though Haaland will be disappointed with this, he had a brilliant first major tournament with Norway. He scored two in their opening win over Iraq, grabbed another brace in their 3-2 win over Senegal. He was rested for the France defeat when both teams were assured of progress but scored the winner against the Ivory Coast, and then scored twice against Brazil, the second a thunderous effort from outside the box. He leaves with seven goals and thousands of new fans here in the States. It’s fair to say this part of the world has fallen in love with Haaland, complete with look-alike contests and general wonderment at one of the world’s best strikers. — Hamilton

Solbakken proves his tactical nous

Stale Solbakken had a very good World Cup in terms of tactics and team selections, proving that it is not just Haaland who has made an impact on the biggest stage.

Solbakken was criticized for resting 10 players for the final group game against France after qualification had already been achieved, but despite a 4-1 defeat in Boston, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager justified the changes by saying it was to help his players be fit and fresh for the latter stages. It paid off with wins against Ivory Coast and Brazil.

Against Brazil in the round of 16, Solbakken devised a game plan to dominate midfield and possession against Carlo Ancelotti’s side and again, his tactics delivered with a 2-1 win in New Jersey.

In Miami, Norway started passively, allowing England to control the game, but as soon as the first drinks break was over, Solbakken’s side attacked England with energy and verve and it caught their opponents out, leading to Schjelderup’s opening goal on 36 minutes.

Solbakken’s substitutions also had a big impact — wingers Antonio Nusa and Bobb injected freshness, and Norway dominated the second half. Solbakken substituted Haaland at halftime in extra time, seemingly due to fatigue, and with his star player no longer on the pitch, England’s extra quality made the difference in a tight game in Miami. But Solbakken still emerged as a coaching star of the tournament. — Mark Ogden

Miami too hot to handle

Questions will be asked as to why FIFA not only chose Miami as a venue for a quarterfinal, but also why the game was allowed to kick off at 5 p.m. in unbearable heat.

The temperature at kickoff time was 91 degrees Fahrenheit, but the “feels like” temperature was as high as 113 degrees. And as for global players’ union FIFPRO’s recommendation that games should be suspended or delayed if the Wet Globe Bulb temperature — a metric that measures heat and humidity — hits 82, the measurement at kickoff was 88.

So on all levels, the conditions that the two teams were exposed to were well beyond suitable for a game of this magnitude. Games in Miami should be played in the evening to avoid the worst of the oppressive conditions, but the reality is that there is no good time to play sport in south Florida at this time of year.

It was clearly grueling for every player involved and even by the end of the 90 minutes, the “feels like” temperature was still 109 degrees Fahrenheit. — Ogden