The July Florida heat hung over Miami Gardens like an invisible white sauce, sapping England of their rhythm and clarity. Norway, playing in their first World Cup quarter-final, were the better team for long stretches. But they did not have Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham scored twice to drag England to a 2-1 win, first latching onto Anthony Gordon’s pass just before half-time with a show of silky footwork and strength to slot past Orjan Nyland. Then, with the game locked at 1-1 and heading for extra time, he pounced on a parried Morgan Rogers shot to score from point-blank range. Norway had taken an early lead through Andreas Schjelderup’s cross, but Bellingham’s double – his sixth and seventh goals in six tournament games – proved decisive.
“Jude Bellingham scores twice as England beat Norway 2-1 to reach World Cup semi-finals”
Gary Neville, speaking on ITV, compared Bellingham to Paul Gascoigne, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney, but said he had “never seen a player for England in my lifetime have an impact on a tournament like Jude Bellingham. This is very special, what we’re watching.”
England were poor in between, described by the Guardian’s Barney Ronay as “the hollow men, stuffed men, waiting for the game to happen to them”. The heat – the kind of air that “makes your vision blur and your brain sag” – seemed to corrode their game. Dan Burn and Djed Spence produced desperate defensive work at the end, but it was Bellingham, playing what felt like a parallel tournament, who carried the nation through.
Thomas Tuchel’s side now advance to the semi-finals, but with much to fix. The question is whether Bellingham alone can sustain this level against tougher opposition.