England is heading to the World Cup semifinals. Again. And just like pretty much every other game they’ve played in this tournament, it was not clean, not easy, and not anything close to what you’d call championship-caliber football. But it was enough.
Jude Bellingham scored the equalizer late in the first half and then bagged the winner on a rebound early in extra time, lifting the Three Lions to a 2-1 win over Norway on Saturday night. The goal that sent England through? A weird bounce off a defender, a scrum in the box, and Bellingham being the one player on the pitch who never stopped moving. That’s basically been his entire tournament in one moment.
Norway came into this game as the underdog story of the World Cup. A team that nobody picked to get out of the group stage, let alone knock out Brazil in the round of 16. And for about 40 minutes, it looked like they might actually pull off another shock. Erling Haaland had been quiet for most of the night, but Norway struck first through a set piece goal that left England’s defense looking disorganized. Again.
Bellingham Just Keeps Showing Up
There’s a pattern with this England team. They fall behind. They look shaky. They rely on individual brilliance to pull them back into the game. Against Norway, that meant Bellingham taking over. His equalizer came from a flicked header off a cross that he had no business getting to. But Bellingham has made a habit of doing things he has no business doing.
When extra time started, England looked tired. Norway looked tired too, but they had nothing to lose. Then Bellingham crashed a rebound into the back of the net after a saved shot from Harry Kane, and suddenly the dream run for Norway was over. The team has not confirmed any major injuries, but Norway’s captain was seen limping off late in extra time, which could factor into their upcoming third-place match if they get there.
For England, the road doesn’t get easier. They’ll face France in the semifinals, a team that has looked more dominant from start to finish in every game. But England has something France doesn’t: a habit of finding ways to win games they probably shouldn’t.
Is that sustainable? Probably not. But it’s gotten them within two wins of their first World Cup title since 1966, so maybe nobody in the England camp cares how it looks.
The semifinal is Wednesday. France is waiting. And England will likely do what England does — make it harder than it needs to be, and rely on Bellingham to save them one more time.
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