Bellingham Powers England: 4 Takeaways From Three Lions’ Win vs. Norway, Haaland
MIAMI STADIUM — England is headed to the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals for the second time in eight years. On a sweltering Saturday in South Florida, where the temperature before kickoff at 5 p.m. local time hovered higher than 90 degrees, the Three Lions came back from a 1-0 deficit to eliminate upstart Norway and its superhero of a striker, Manchester City goal-machine Erling Haaland. Two goals by English star Jude Bellingham — the second in the third minute of extra time — saw the Three Lions advance after Andreas Schjelderup opened the scoring against the run of play in the first half. Bellingham canceled out Schjelderup’s strike with a spectacular equalizer just before the intermission, then added the winner when Norwegian keeper Ørjan Nyland failed to corral the rebound from Morgan Rogers’ powerful shot. “World-class,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said of Bellingham’s big night. “A world-class performance from a world-class player in big, big moments – crucial moments.” Here are my four takeaways from England’s victory over Norway: 1. Jude Bellingham Was The Difference For England Halfway through the additional 30 minutes played in Miami, a quick look at the stats told the story. Both sides had 10 shots. Both had directed half of them on-target. Both teams had a goal called back earlier in the game — the Three Lions because they were offside, Norway after the video assistant flagged a foul committed by Haaland just before what looked like a potential game-winner. (VAR also denied England a penalty attempt after Bellingham’s second that could’ve ended the contest there and then.) Still, in a game billed as a battle between Haaland and Harry Kane — probably the best two pure scorers on the planet — Bellingham stole the show for the second England match running. “It’s nice to have an impact and to help my team,” he said. After scoring twice in last weekend’s thrilling 3-2 win over co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Estadio Azteca — known as Mexico City Stadium during the World Cup — Bellingham again came alive when his country needed him most. His first goal was a team play that he finished with a flash of individual brilliance, his second a clinic in anticipation and timing and execution. In a match where the margins were razor-thin, he is the reason England is off to Atlanta for the World Cup semifinal, while Norway is going home. “His mentality is what puts him on that level,” keeper Jordan Pickford said. 2. Still, Hats Off To Erling Haaland And Norway Never before had Norway made a World Cup quarterfinal. It hadn’t even qualified for the biggest event in sports this century before finally making it back this summer. Even then — and even with Haaland spearheading the attack and Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard running the show behind them — nobody expected much from the Drillos. Norway was ranked 32nd by FIFA in January. It was 31st when this World Cup kicked off exactly a month ago. Yet on the field and off, the Norwegians were one of the best stories of this World Cup. Videos of their fans taking over Times Square and executing their choreographed “Viking Row” on escalators and New York City subways endeared them to locals there, and in Boston, in Dallas and here in Miami. Norway beat Senegal and Ivory Coast and then eliminated five-time champions Brazil. And none of it was a fluke. It may have lost to England on Saturday, but it won the hearts of neutrals all over America and in countries in every corner of the globe. These Vikings and their incredible supporters can and will row back across the Atlantic with their heads held high. Even in defeat, on a quiet night that ended when he was subbed out in extra time, Haaland left his mark. “Everyone,” Pickford said, “Knows how good a player Earling is.” 3. Argentina Awaits For Kane & Co. Tuchel’s squad had wait a few hours to find out which opponent it’ll meet in Atlanta on Wednesday, with the Three Lions slated to face the winner of Saturday’s nightcap in Kansas City between Messi’s Albiceleste and Switzerland. Of course, it’s the defending champs. Despite being an ocean apart, Argentina and England have a long and storied rivalry on the global stage. Diego Maradona’s famous “Goal of the Century” slalom and infamous “Hand of God” strike in 1986 came in the same quarterfinal game vs. England. Argentina also knocked the Three Lions out in the quarters in 1998 following a red card by David Beckham. Four years later, Beckham — the current Inter Miami co-owner who was in the house on Saturday — scored a penalty that helped beat Argentina en route to La Albiceleste’s shocking group stage exit. Tensions between the sides haven’t been limited to soccer, either, as the two countries fought a 74-day war in 1982 over the control of the Falkland Islands off Argentina’s coast. Now, for the first time, they’ll play each other with a trip to the World Cup final at stake. 4. Is This Finally England’s Year? It’s been 60 years this month since the country that invented the sport won its only World Cup. It’s also the only final they’ve ever appeared in. The Three Lions have also never won a European Championship, although they were the losing finalists in 2021 (to Italy) and Spain (2024) at the last two Euros. Now, under German manager Tuchel, they’ll play for the right to get back to the biggest title match there is. It’s only England’s fourth trip to the semis ever. The last two didn’t go well; Croatia knocked the Three Lions out in 2018. Back in 1990, they lost to eventual champ West Germany on penalties. Despite the English Premier League establishing itself as soccer’s top domestic circuit, that’s as close as the country’s national team has come in the last six decades. On Wednesday in Atlanta, we’ll see they can get one step closer to reaching the mountaintop – and to bringing football home. “Now it’s just about recovering,” Tuchel said. “The next three days are crucial, of course, to be ready. But this victory will help a lot.”
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