Jude Bellingham scored twice as England beat Norway 2-1 in extra time to reach the World Cup semi finals. Match report, Bellingham stats, Tuchel reaction, and why England vs Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta will define their tournament.
If England need a hero, they have one. And his name is Jude Bellingham.
For the second game running, the 23 year old dragged England over the line. His double secured a gritty 2-1 extra time win over Norway in Miami and sent Thomas Tuchel's side into their fourth ever World Cup semi final.
It wasn't pretty. It wasn't dominant. But it was enough. England will now face either Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday.
The Florida heat was brutal. The football matched it for the first 80 minutes.
44th minute: Norway struck first against the run of play. Andreas Schjelderup tried to cross shot from the left. It caught Jordan Pickford off guard and nestled in the far corner. 1-0 Norway. Freak. Unfair. But it counted.
England could have crumbled. Instead they had Bellingham.
45+3 minute: Game state changed. A driving run from midfield, one touch to take it past the defender, and a finish into the corner. 1-1.
Norway were furious. They claimed the ball had hit a goal line camera cable from Orjan Nyland's goal kick in the build up. FIFA checked the ball's sensor. No contact registered. Goal stood.
That goal changed everything.
Norway had chances to put the game away before that. Alexander Sorloth's biggest miss: a two on one counter where he didn't pass to Erling Haaland. Haaland was largely quiet all night, suffocated by England's back line and the conditions.
With penalties looming at 1-1, Bellingham struck again
105th minute: Morgan Rogers unleashed a shot from distance. Nyland spilled it. Who was first to react? Bellingham. Tap in. 2-1 England.
117 seconds after coming on vs Belgium, Merino scored. 105 minutes into this game, Bellingham did.
KEY STATS: ENGLAND 2-1 NORWAY
● Possession: England 64% - 36% Norway
● shots: England 16 - 9 Norway
● Goals: Bellingham 45+3', 105'| Schjelderup 44'
● Temperature: on pitch: 34⁰C with 78% humidity
● Bellingham: 6 goals at the tournament, 7 total at World Cups
Gary Neville put it best on ITV
"I've seen Gazza, Owen, Rooney. But I've never seen a player have an impact on the tournament in the way Jude Bellingham is. An absolute superstar."
He's not just scoring. He's scoring when England need it most.
The result was perfect. The performance wasn't and Tuchel said so.
In a spiky post match interview he didn't hold back.
"We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic, we're in the last four. I'm not happy with the performance. Sloppy, tactical mistakes, not fast enough. Not repetitive enough. We were lucky."
When asked if it was mentally:
"Why are you talking about mentality? It's the quality of our game. We need to play better."
Even Bellingham had a 4 word response: "Yeah, well. Whatever."
Harry Kane took a more diplomatic view:
"He just said in the changing room: congratulations, enjoy it. It still feels like there's a part of him that knows we can do better, which in a way is a good thing. If we're in the semi finals and can improve, that's a positive."
WHAT NEXT: ENGLAND VS ARGENTINA OR SWITZERLAND
It's either the World Cup holders Argentina, or a Swiss side built on discipline and organization.
England will need to be much better on the ball. Tuchel admitted it. Kane admitted it. If they play like they did for 80 minutes vs Norway, they're going home.
But if Bellingham is in this Form? Anything is possible.
England are 180 minutes from World Cup final. And they have the one player you want in those 180 minutes.
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