Bellingham brace sends England into World Cup semifinals
Baku, July 12, AZERTAC
Jude Bellingham scored twice as England came from behind to defeat Norway 2-1 after extra time on Saturday, sending the Three Lions into the FIFA World Cup semifinals and ending Norway’s hopes of reaching the last four for the first time.
Norway took the lead in the 36th minute when Andreas Schjelderup fired a left-footed shot beyond goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and in off the far post.
England equalized in first-half stoppage time through Bellingham, who finished low into the far corner after the ball fell to Elliot Anderson in a move that sparked controversy.
Moments earlier, a Norway goal kick appeared to strike an aerial camera cable before dropping near Anderson. Under the rules, play would have been stopped and restarted with a dropped ball if officials had determined that the ball had made contact with the cable.
FIFA later confirmed that the ball had not touched the wire.
The match remained finely balanced in the second half. Harry Kane had a goal ruled out for offside, while Norway’s Torbjørn Heggem also saw his effort disallowed for a foul.
With the score level after 90 minutes in the sweltering heat of Miami, Bellingham struck three minutes into extra time, converting from close range to give England the lead.
England were later awarded a penalty after Djed Spence went down under a challenge from Oscar Bobb, but the decision was overturned following a VAR review.
Norway head coach Ståle Solbakken replaced Erling Haaland with Jørgen Strand Larsen at halftime of extra time, but England held firm to secure the victory.
Bellingham now has six goals in the tournament, level with Kane and trailing only France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who have scored eight each.
England will face Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday. It will be the Three Lions’ second World Cup semifinal in three tournaments as they continue their pursuit of a first World Cup final since lifting the trophy on home soil in 1966.
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