Bellingham Brace Sends England Past Norway into World Cup Semifinals

"I think we really do have a chance to win this match. This Norwegian team, at its best, can beat anyone." Before the game, Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon voiced such expectations — but the streak of the Norwegian royal family attending the World Cup in person and Norway remaining unbeaten did not survive this tournament.

Bellingham's goal in extra time ended the Norwegians' dream. On July 12 (Beijing time), the quarterfinals of the USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup continued as England came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 and advance to the semifinals, bringing the fans' cry of "football coming home" one step closer to reality. Norway, eliminated in the last eight, also set the team's best-ever record at a World Cup.

And after completing his brace, Bellingham rewrote a string of England records. Averaging more than a goal contributed per game, Bellingham has become the most efficient player of this World Cup.

Worth noting: before the match, players from both teams and the crowd held a minute's silence for the recently deceased South African midfielder Jaden Adams, showing the tender side of the World Cup.

England can always count on Bellingham to step up

"Our performance today made the match very, very difficult. The result is great, we're in the semifinals, that's remarkable, but I'm not satisfied with the performance, in every single aspect. We have three days to digest all of this." After reaching the semifinals, England manager Thomas Tuchel expressed displeasure with his team but did not hold back his praise for Bellingham: "Needless to say, he's world-class every single game."

This England side was a seeded team at the USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup and ranks near the top of every data agency's title-probability charts, yet across their route through this tournament — from the group stage to the knockouts — they were often not the side in control on the pitch.

Whenever England found itself passive, even in adversity, the 23-year-old England midfield linchpin Bellingham would always step up.

Against Norway this time, the England team — with an absolute advantage in squad quality — was once more the side to concede first.

In fact, before the first-half drinks break, England completely controlled the rhythm of the match. According to Opta, England's share of passes completed in the opponent's attacking third stood at 93.4% of the total between the two sides at that point, while Norway managed just 6.6%. That figure reflects how England kept the game pinned in Norway's half for long stretches, applying pressure through sustained forward passing, while Norway sat deeper in defense and struggled to push the ball into England's danger zones.

After the drinks break, the complexion of the match's "second period" changed abruptly. In the 36th minute, Ødegaard assisted Schjelderup to put Norway ahead, leaving England trailing and on the back foot.

It was only in first-half stoppage time that Gordon assisted Bellingham to score for England and equalize. With that equalizer, Bellingham had scored 8 goals for England in major tournaments, overtaking Rooney. Ahead of him, only Kane, Lineker and Shearer have more major-tournament goals.

The data shows Bellingham was also among England's best performers in the first half — he not only scored, but also completed 2 successful dribbles, 4 touches inside the box and was fouled twice; all three figures led the match. He also won 4 duels in the first half, ranking second in the game.

After the interval, Norway seized the initiative at times and created more threatening attacks than England. In the 54th minute, a Norwegian goal was ruled out for a prior foul. In the 75th minute, a Norwegian header struck the crossbar, and England thus twice escaped the unfavorable scenario of "falling behind again."

Into extra time, it was still Bellingham who stepped up. In the 93rd minute, Bellingham intelligently surged forward to poke home the rebound, completing his brace and sealing England's comeback.

At this point, Bellingham has 6 goals in 6 matches at this World Cup, level with Kane and behind only Messi and Mbappé (8 each) and Haaland (7). He has also become the England player with the most non-penalty goals in a single World Cup, tied with Lineker.

The 23-year-old midfield linchpin, who supplied more than half of England's knockout-stage goals, is an out-and-out "big-moment player." According to statistics, 75% of his goals — 9 of his 12 — have come in major international tournaments (World Cup and European Championship). Among all players who have scored at least 5 goals for the Three Lions, his share of major-tournament goals is the highest.

After Bellingham's double, he and Kane also set another World Cup record: both scored 6 goals in this tournament, becoming the first pair in World Cup history to each score at least 6 goals for their national team in the same edition.

No wonder many British football pundits began to "rake over old coals" after Bellingham kept bailing the team out of trouble. Renowned British broadcaster John Bennett quipped: "Can you believe it? Before the World Cup there was plenty of debate about whether Bellingham should even be in the starting eleven."

Royals watched in person — Norway has become a point of national pride

At this USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup, for this Norwegian team that has written the best chapter in its history, every previous appearance by the royal family in the stands had brought good fortune.

Earlier, Norwegian Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus watched two matches live in the United States — Norway vs Senegal and Norway vs Brazil. In those games, Norway beat Senegal 3-2 in the group stage to take all three points, and beat Brazil 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals, rewriting the nation's best-ever World Cup record.

It should be remembered that Norway had appeared at only three World Cups before this, with its best result being the round of 16 in 1998.

"That we can be here today is truly very important, and very joyful," Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon said before the match, noting that Norway's showing at this World Cup has inspired the whole country: "I think we feel a sense of unity. That everyone can come together around something so positive — like this national team and their wonderful performance at the World Cup — is a beautiful thing."

In this match, Norway was the side to break the deadlock first. In the 36th minute, Ødegaard assisted Schjelderup to score for Norway — a goal that also rewrote the head-to-head history between Norway and England.

According to data sites, Norway had gone 33 years without finding the net against England. The last goal dated back to a 1994 World Cup qualifier in Oslo, a 2-0 win in which Norway's scorers were Øyvind Leonhardsen and Lars Bohinen. From then until this goal, Norway had gone 442 consecutive minutes without scoring against England.

Although England equalized in first-half stoppage time, Norway created more dangerous attacks in the second half; it is a slight pity that they were just a touch of luck away from scoring.

In the 54th minute, Norway won a corner and scrambled the ball into the net, but VAR intervened and the referee ruled that Haaland had fouled England defensive midfielder Andersson before the goal by pushing him over, so it was disallowed. In the 75th minute, Norwegian defender Ajer's header hit the crossbar, missing the chance to go back in front.