England midfielder Jude Bellingham (10) celebrates after scoring a goal against Norway in the extra time of their FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final soccer match at Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Stadium) on Saturday, July 11, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Photo by Matias J. Ocner
mocner@miamiherald.com
Without any teams from South America, there was less dancing and singing outside Hard Rock Stadium Saturday as there had been for the previous five World Cup matches, but the All-European quarterfinal between England and Norway was equally entertaining once the opening whistle blew.
When it was all over, jubilant English players and their fans broke into a sing-a-long.
It took 120 minutes to decide this one, and England finally emerged victorious, 2-1, on a pair of goals by Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid midfielder. England advances to the Wednesday semifinal in Atlanta and will face the winner of Saturday’s late game between Argentina and Switzerland.
After the game, the English players, exhausted but elated, stayed on the field and along with their relieved fans belted out the Oasis song, “Wonderwall,” which has become their unofficial anthem. They then serenaded Bellingham with a passionate rendition of “Hey Jude.”
England players gather to greet fans after they defeated Norway in the extra time of their FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final soccer match at Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Stadium) on Saturday, July 11, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com
Despite the hard-fought win, England coach Thomas Tuchel was not satisfied with how his team played.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves [Saturday],” Tuchel said as he left the field. “The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing. But not a good performance. The commitment was there, but we made life very, very difficult for ourselves in the way we played. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough. We were lucky.”
He later elaborated on his thoughts.
“I’m impressed with the shift that they put in, the effort, the spirit, the belief, and to overcome adversity and dig in and find ways to win at the highest level,” Tuchel said. “They cannot get enough praise for that. But I’m also a football coach and I think we can play better, in general. I think it was not a high-level game. We’ve had better games.”
The score was knotted 1-1 at halftime Saturday after a blistering angled shot by winger Andreas Schjerlderup gave Norway the lead and then Bellingham got his team and its fans back into the game with the equalizer just before intermission.
Norway nearly regained the lead in the 55th minute after Torbjorn Heggem appeared to score on a corner kick, but a VAR check revealed that Norwegian star Erling Haaland shoved his Manchester City teammate Elliot Anderson as the ball was played in, and the goal was waved off.
The game remained tied after regulation and headed to extra time, when Bellingham, once again, came to the rescue for the Three Lions. Morgan Rogers took a shot from 25 yards out, Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland spilled the ball out into the path of Bellingham, who knocked in the rebound to make it 2-1 and give England its first lead of the game.
That was the seventh World Cup goal for 23-year-old Bellingham, including six at this tournament, which is tied with team captain Harry Kane. He became the second-youngest player to score two goals in consecutive games, behind Pele.
“World class performance from a world-class player in big, big moments,” Tuchel said of Bellingham.
Bellingham was named the Man of the Match. He thanked his mother profusely for her advice before the match. Bellingham received a yellow card against DR Congo and would have been suspended for a match if he received another yellow card.
“My mom was telling me all week to watch my face and watch my emotions,” he said. “I think she drilled into me all week about being careful.”
His go-ahead goal energized the sellout crowd of 64,478, which was awash in red and white and dominated by English fans, including rock legend Mick Jagger and former England captain David Beckham, the Inter Miami co-owner. A few fans were spotted in Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper costumes.
Norwegian fans wore red and blue, Viking helmets and Haaland shirts. They did their Viking Row chant a few times during the game and held out hope even after England took the extra time lead.
There was concern before the match about how the two teams would handle the sweltering heat and humidity, but an overcast sky made the 91-degree temperature more bearable. Still, as the game wore on and headed to extra time, both teams were visibly sapped of energy and moving at a slower pace, including Haaland, who faded late in the game, was subbed out at the 105-minute mark and replaced by Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Norway forward Erling Haaland (9) battles England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (1) at the goal in the first half of their FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final soccer match at Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Stadium) on Saturday, July 11, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Fla. Photography by AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com
It became a battle of attrition in the final minutes and England proved to have a bit more fuel in its tank.
In the buildup to the match, the most pressing question was how England would stop Haaland, Norway’s towering, clinical striker, who plays for Manchester City in the English Premier League and has been in peak form during the World Cup, with seven goals in four matches heading into Saturday’s game.
He took a couple of shots in the first half, but it was Schjerlderup who gave Norway the lead in the 36th minute when what was either a spectacular shot or an intended cross from a difficult angle whizzed past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and bounced into the top corner off the post.
Schjerlderup was the lone change Norway coach Stale Solbakken made in the starting lineup for Saturday’s match, starting the Benfica midfielder on the left flank in place of Antonio Nusa. Schjerlderup had come on to set up both of Haaland’s decisive goals in the Round of 16 win over Brazil.
England’s players and fans were incredulous as the Norwegians celebrated his opening goal.
England dominated possession from the opening whistle, 73 percent to 27 percent at the 22-minute mark, when play was interrupted for a hydration break, which drew a boo from the fans, as it has at many stadiums during the tournament. At that point in the match, England had made 238 passes compared to 90 for Norway.
And yet, the game remained scoreless until Schjelderup’s goal.
Bellingham stepped up, as he has so often during this tournament. Anthony Gordon received a pass from Elliot Anderson on the left side and then delivered the ball to Bellingham on the edge of the box. Bellingham, surrounded by four defenders, dribbled around Torbjorn Heggem to get a better view of the goal and knocked in a left-footed shot past Nyland.
The crowd included a good number of Mexican fans, who had hoped their team would be in this game. Instead, it was England, which showed remarkable resolve, overcoming the altitude at Estadio Azteca, nearly 80,000 Mexican fans and a red card in the Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinal.
England was in the final eight for the 11th time and has advanced to the semifinals on three previous occasions. The Three Lions won the championship in 1966 and advanced to the semis again in 1990 and 2018. Four years ago, England lost to France in the quarterfinals and is determined to go further this time around.
Norway, meanwhile, playing it its first World Cup in 28 years, has been one of the tournament darlings with the joyful Haaland and the fans’ Viking Row chant, which has gone viral. Norway beat Iraq, Senegal and Ivory Coast and then knocked out five-time champion Brazil to advance to the quarters.
Notes: The game began with a moment of silence for Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old South African midfielder who died of unknown causes just weeks after playing in the World Cup…Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez was in the crowd Saturday, as was former Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano.
This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 6:32 PM.
Miami Herald
Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.