England were back in Azteca mode in the end. Big Dan Burn was on to thump those headers away. Reece James and the magnificent Djed Spence were covering the flanks, Elliot Anderson was taking care of midfield on his own and the problem for Norway was that the hulking figure leading their attack was no longer on the pitch as they tried to find a way through England’s back five at the end of extra time in Miami.
It would be a push to call this a tactical or defensive masterclass from Thomas Tuchel. The German made a rare misstep at half-time, handing the game to Martin Ødegaard when the unwell Declan Rice had to go off, and spent the rest of the second half trying to correct his mistake. First James had to come on for Anthony Gordon, depriving England of one of their main counterattacking outlets as a sense of dread took over, and it was only when the counterpressing of Morgan Rogers was added to the midfield mix that a semblance of order was restored.
Norway will head home rightly proud of their efforts but no doubt perplexed at how they failed to make to a World Cup semi-final for the first time. There was a moment during the second half when it seemed England were going to need David Beckham to whip off his suit, jump out of the VVIP section and head down to the pitch to rescue them. Something had to change in midfield. Would it be Kobbie Mainoo’s time? On balance, there seemed to be more chance of Tuchel sending on Ellie Goulding to take on Ødegaard, Sander Berge and Patrick Berg. Mainoo is the squad’s great forgotten figure and the more the Norwegian pressure grew the more implausible it felt that this was going to end with their players fighting back the tears after being bundled out of the tournament by Jude Bellingham.
Beyond Bellingham’s brilliance and a horrible piece of goalkeeping from Ørjan Håskjold Nyland for the winner, though, it was worth dwelling on how England’s maligned defence held them together during the second half. It was not to be Erling Haaland’s day. There were flashes from the Norway striker, not to mention a constant sense of menace, even when the ball was nowhere near him. He landed two headers on Jordan Pickford’s goal and will look back on the moment when, with England rocking after going behind to Andreas Schjelderup’s cross-shot, Alexander Sørloth failed to send him through to double the lead.
Credit goes to John Stones for narrowing the angles as Sørloth dithered, delayed and ended up fluffing his lines. It was clever defending from the England centre-back, whose performance alongside Marc Guéhi was crucial to how Haaland was managed. The threat was never neutralised but was at least contained. Haaland was restricted to 21 touches and had a pass completion rate of 38% before making way for Jørgen Strand Larsen after the first period of extra time, although those statistics did not quite tell the full story of his seismic battle with Guéhi and Stones.
Haaland knows both England centre-backs from Manchester City. Club loyalties were put aside. There were shuddering collisions with Guéhi, who stood up to the test. He went shoulder to shoulder with Haaland on multiple occasions, was not dribbled past and made a series of crucial interventions to help England when Norway were on top.
It did not help that Pickford was in skittish form and arguably at fault for Schjelderup’s strike. Defence has been a problem for England in every game. Tuchel has been forced to chop and change because of injuries and it was easy to think he had lost faith in Stones, who came into the tournament short of match practice and did not convince when England beat Croatia in Dallas last month.
This was Stones’s first start since. He is no longer a City player and made only nine appearances in the league last season. Here, though, one of England’s greats stood tall. Nobody got past Stones. His anticipation was second to none. He made six headed clearances – vital given how dangerous Norway were from set pieces – and was credited with eight defensive contributions. A rare error, when he was dispossessed in a dangerous area, went unpunished.
England in general, of course, were far from perfect. Norway hit the bar and had a goal disallowed in the second half. But with Anderson exposed in midfield after Rice’s departure, there was vast responsibility on the defence to hold out. Nico O’Reilly was tested at left-back and made a crucial tackle on the Norway substitute Oscar Bobb. Ezri Konsa was diligent at right-back before tiring. James, initially introduced in midfield, was powerful when he moved back after Konsa went off. Antonio Nusa, lively when he came on, was not as influential once he was up against the Chelsea captain.
England had to show grit. The fans serenaded Stones when he made a block in extra time. In Miami, meanwhile, they will talk of the Miracle of Djed Spence for years to come. The defender came on for O’Reilly and was exceptional. He should have had a penalty after being taken down by Bobb. There was a moment when he shoved Harry Kane aside and almost scored from the edge of the area.
Spence ruled the left flank during extra time. Norway had one glimmer, Eberechi Eze diverting a Bobb shot over. Haaland, it must be said, did not deserve this ending. He has been a captivating story: so invested in Norway’s rise, free of ego, devastating against Brazil. But England were the first team to stop Haaland from scoring, which is no mean feat. Tuchel will not ignore the flaws before Wednesday’s semi-final in Atlanta. But he will at least know that his defenders can perform under pressure.
