Jude Bellingham’s brace sends England past Norway into FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals

Jude Bellingham struck twice, including a decisive extra-time winner, as England rallied from a goal down to defeat Norway 2-1 and secure a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals on Sunday.

Thomas Tuchel’s side recovered from a first-half setback after Andreas Schjelderup gave Norway the lead, with Bellingham restoring parity just before the interval before sealing victory early in extra time. England will now face Argentina in a blockbuster semi-final in Atlanta.

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Norway, appearing in only their third World Cup quarter-final and their first since 1998, started brightly and nearly broke the deadlock when Erling Haaland’s header tested Jordan Pickford. The warning soon turned into reality in the 36th minute as Schjelderup’s angled effort found the far corner to hand the Scandinavian side a deserved advantage.

England struggled to create clear openings for much of the first half but found the equaliser deep into stoppage time. Bellingham surged into the penalty area before calmly finishing past Orjan Nyland to restore parity. Harry Kane thought he had completed the turnaround moments later, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

The second half remained finely balanced, with both teams threatening. Norway briefly believed they had regained the lead through Torbjorn Heggem following a corner, but VAR disallowed the goal after Haaland was penalised for a foul on Elliot Anderson during the build-up.

England survived another anxious moment when Kristoffer Ajer’s header rattled the crossbar, while Djed Spence almost punished Nyland after the Norwegian goalkeeper’s hurried clearance fell kindly to the defender.

With neither side able to find a breakthrough in regulation time, the contest moved into extra time.

Just three minutes into the additional period, England found the decisive goal. Substitute Morgan Rogers forced Nyland into a save with a powerful strike, but the goalkeeper could only parry the ball into the path of Bellingham, who reacted quickest to slot home his second goal of the night.

The victory sends England into their fourth FIFA World Cup semi-final, where they will take on Argentina for a place in the final.

Bellingham’s brace also saw him move level with captain Harry Kane on six goals at the tournament, marking the first time two England players have scored at least five goals in the same edition of the FIFA World Cup.