Jude Bellingham dismissed Thomas Tuchel's criticism of England's 'lucky' performance after the Real Madrid star's two goals dragged his side into a World Cup semi-final against Argentina – but the victory was overshadowed by a controversial equaliser that left Norway feeling 'robbed'.
With England trailing to Andreas Schjelderup's early goal, Bellingham levelled just before half-time in a goal that replays suggested came after a Norway goal-kick hit an overhead Spidercam cable. FIFA later issued a statement saying the ball's sensor showed no peak in the 'heartbeat of the ball' when in the air, and therefore no evidence it touched the wire. Norway coach Ståle Solbakken was unconvinced: 'I think it's pretty clear that it did and yeah, it was a strange thing.'
“Bellingham hits back at Tuchel's 'lucky' jibe after controversial goal helps England beat Norway to reach World Cup semi-finals.”
England then survived a disallowed Norway goal – ruled out for Erling Haaland's shove on Elliot Anderson – and a missed chance to make it 2-0 before Bellingham pounced on a mistake by goalkeeper Ørjan Håskjold Nyland in the third minute of extra time to seal a 2-1 win. 'We got lucky,' Tuchel said. 'The result is fantastic but I'm not happy with the performance. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough. This is pure mentality.'
But when asked about his manager's comments, Bellingham was unimpressed: 'Yeah, well, whatever. It's difficult out there, it's a tough shift.' Pressed further, he added: 'Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kind of conditions against Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, Antonio Nusa, Alexander Sørloth. That's not an easy team to play against. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we've done that again tonight.'
Norway captain Martin Ødegaard said he felt 'bitter' about the call, while Schjelderup called the disallowed goal 'a very soft foul' and said he felt 'a bit robbed'. England, who have reached the semi-finals for the first time since 2018, now face Argentina – and must decide whether Tuchel's demand for a better performance can be met before their toughest test yet.