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Bellingham the hero as England advance to semi-finals
Alanis Thames •  July 12th, 2026 12:23 pm
Jude Bellingham (r) is the toast of England after their World Cup quarter-final win over Norway | Photo: AP
Jude Bellingham is England's hero after he scored in the third minute of extra time to lift his team past Norway 2-1 and into the World Cup semi-finals for a fourth time.
Bellingham's goal was his second of the game - he also had an equaliser late in the first half.
The Real Madrid star is now tied with England teammate Harry Kane with six goals in this tournament, behind the eight of France's Kylian Mbappé and Argentina's Lionel Messi.
He also scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-host Mexico.
Jude Bellingham fires in his match-winner for England in extra time | Photo: AP
England, winner of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title match, are now one win away from getting there. The Three Lions will face either Argentina or Switzerland, set to play Saturday night in Kansas City.
Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36th minute for Norway, playing in their first quarter-final after taking the internet by storm with their "Viking row" and the charisma ofstriker Erling Haaland.
Haaland - the Manchester City star who had seven goals in this tournament - was held without a goal for the first time in the World Cup and was subbed off for Jorgen Strand Larsen in the second half of extra time.
Erling Haaland was subbed off, going goal-less for the first time in the tournament | Photo: EPA
Norway nearly went ahead 2-1 in the 56th minute when Torbjørn Heggem put a rebound past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. Following a video review, the goal was disallowed because of a foul by Haaland in the box. Haaland was also denied by Pickford on a point-blank header in the first half.
Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, fired a shot that caromed off the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession to that point.
Schjelderup, who set up both of Haaland's goals in Norway's round of 16 win over Brazil, celebrated by stretching his arms wide and looking at the crowd as his teammates lifted him onto their shoulders.
Meanwhile, Kane sat near midfield, grabbing his leg and looking toward the officials. No foul was called.
Jude Bellingham celebrates his first goal, putting England level at 1-1 | Photo: AP
Bellingham's equaliser from close range elicited a roar from that crowd that included Mick Jagger and David Beckham.
Moments before Bellingham evened the score, a Norway goal kick resulted in the ball appearing to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England's Elliot Anderson.
The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the cable, play would have stopped and a drop ball would have been utilized to determine possession.
