David Hytner was at Miami Stadium, and his report is in. There’s also a gallery of all the best pics from a fantastic night in Florida. Both are below. Congratulations to England, commiserations to Norway, and thanks to you all for reading this MBM. Argentina v Switzerland next! It never stops!
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Harry Kane speaks to ITV. “Another story … tough game … hot, really brutal … almost more difficult than Mexico … we found a way … it wasn’t our prettiest performance … everyone put in an amazing shift … togetherness, desire, determination … [Thomas Tuchel] said massive congratulations … enjoy it … there’s a part of him that knows we can do better … that’s a good thing … if we find another level … we have to take that as a positive … we have a couple of big games ahead.”
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Post-match postbag. “England’s best player was better than Norway’s best player. England’s supporting cast was better than Norway’s supporting cast. That will get the job done quite often” – Eric Peterson
“Another rollercoaster ride from England! I thought Tuchel’s interview was actually really refreshing in a way, telling it like it is. I did think taking off Anthony Gordon was a mistake as he’d been having so much joy with the left wing, and Kane did not produce enough, but anyway. Can we beat Argentina????? I’m really not sure we can. A shame we didn’t get to see another Viking row. Norway have been hugely entertaining and I will definitely miss them” – Matthew Leung
“During the break, Norwegian TV showed the ball hitting the wire holding the spider-cam inn the lead up to the Bellingham goal. It should have been disallowed. England are lucky they’re still in it!” – Eivind Krohg
“England needed help from the referee today, and they got it. The equaliser should have been ruled out, and Norway’s second goal should have counted” – Lasse Espe
“So, in the 1066 analogy, the Harold ‘Kane’ Godwinson and the English have seen off Harald Hardrada now. I’m struggling to fit Messi into the story but I seem to remember the eventual winners came from across the channel. William Saliba the Conqueror, anyone?” – Kári Tulinius
England’s two-goal hero Jude Bellingham talks to ITV. “Character … perseverance … even when things weren’t working we found a way to win … whether it’s in 90 or 120 we’ll give everything … we smashed it … so proud … it was a victory for everyone … the whole country wins … credit to everyone … a huge shift … I knew [Morgan Rogers] was going to make an impact … everyone was top level … you don’t know how much mentality and heart they’ve got until they’re in a situation like that.”
He’s then informed of Tuchel’s verdict, and doesn’t seem particularly enamoured by it. “[shakes head] Yeah, well, whatever … whatever … yeah, yeah, it’s difficult out there … it’s a tough shift … all the players have put in a very tough shift … so my thoughts and appreciation goes to the players who was out there … who put in a great shift yet again.”
A shiny dime to be a fly on the England dressing room wall in about ten minutes.
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Tuchel: 'I'm not happy ... we got lucky'
Thomas Tuchel speaks to ITV … and he is fuming, not least with Gabriel Clarke’s line of questioning, which begins with the statement that England expected to suffer, and touches on the subject of mentality. “I never talked about suffering … we made life very, very difficult for ourselves today … the result is fantastic, we are in the last four, it’s amazing … but … [purses lips severely] … I’m not happy with the performance … in every sense … the commitment is there but we made life very difficult for us in the way we played … sloppy … a lot of technical mistakes … not fast enough … not repetitive enough … we were lucky today … this is pure mentality, how can you ask about mentality now?!? … this is pure mentality!!! … you can bottle it up and sell it!!! … it’s the quality of our games [shakes head, clearly furious] … overall we got lucky today … we need to play better … enough said [about Jude Bellingham] … he does it every single match … world class … we will get better … we need to get better … we have three days … we need a better performance.”
The look he gives Clarke as he departs can most politely be described as withering. That was a superb and spectacular loss of noggin. Tuchel, clearly already livid with his team, wasn’t having any of Clarke’s questions, and pushed back in a very entertaining manner. Jude and Harry aren’t the only box-office stars of this set-up.
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… and now the by-now-traditional Gallagher-brother-infused singalong with their fans. They’re not singing this one, but it’s what they’re doing.
Jude Bellingham raises both arms in delight! He’s been the difference tonight, between the two teams, between England reaching their fourth World Cup semi-final and going home. England had to scrap, they rode their luck at times, but they simply didn’t give up, and eventually their strength in depth told. There are celebrations, but nothing too vigorous: everyone has run themselves into the ground! Erling Haaland comes off the bench to embrace Harry Kane, offering congratulations and a hug. That’s a moment of extreme sportsmanship despite Norwegian despair. And there are tears for Ørjan Nyland, whose failure to hold onto Morgan Rogers’ shot proved so costly. The proud Viking adventure is over … but England are making yet another deep run into a major tournament. It’ll be Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta next Wednesday … and then, if they make that, France or Spain in the final. But one step at a time.
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EXTRA TIME, FULL TIME: Norway 1-2 England
England’s mentality monsters are in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup!
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ET 30 min +1: Rogers takes the ball to the corner. Then Ajer slices a tired clearance into the stand.
ET 30 min: There will be two additional minutes. England 120 seconds away from the semis!
ET 29 min: Nusa chases after a long pass down the left and flagged offside. Then Kane goes over clutching his head. The referee tells him to get up.
ET 28 min: Norway are given an uncontested drop on the halfway line. They’re not happy, but England are now so close to their fourth World Cup semi-final!
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ET 27 min: Odegaard curls into the box. Pickford comes out to punch and clatters into Rogers. He goes down and the referee stops play. Ajer is beyond livid with what he sees as gamesmanship, and talks his way into the book.
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ET 26 min: James upends Nusa out on the left. Another opportunity for Norway to put the ball into the England box and cause some mischief.
ET 24 min: Nusa curls in from the left. His cross is deflected wide right for a corner. The set piece is half cleared by Stones, but Bobb has the chance to shoot from the edge of the box. He leans back and shoots over. There was a deflection off Eze, but Norway aren’t getting their corner.
ET 23 min: It’s attack versus defence as Norway go looking for an equaliser.
ET 21 min: Bellingham has done so much, but he’s reached the end of the road. Utterly spent, he’s replaced by Burn.
ET 20 min: Nyland bowls the ball out and it’s an easy interception for Spence, who advances quickly towards the box and shoots. Nyland makes up by parrying his shot, then doing the same with Saka’s effort from the rebound. What a weird up-and-down game the Norway keeper has had.
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ET 19 min: Bobb finds Berg in a pocket of space, just to the right of the England D. He’s got time to line up a shot, but leans back and hoicks a wild effort over the bar. That was a good opportunity.
ET 17 min: It’s all otherwise a bit scrappy, which will suit England, given the state of the match, down to the ground.
ET 16 min: Nusa advances down the left and fires a low cross into the mixer. Stones clears and then Bellingham wins a free kick for accidentally kicking Holmgreen Pedersen in the fruitbowl!
Norway get the second half of extra time (sixth quarter?) underway. And here’s a jaw-dropper of a substitution: Strand Larsen comes on for Haaland! No sign of an injury, but he sits down in the dugout looking spent.
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EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: Norway 1-2 England
Jude Bellingham is a force of nature.
ET 15 min +3: Saka cuts back from the right for Bellingham, who sends a snapshot over the bar from the edge of the box. Bellingham did pretty well there, given the referee was close by and allowed the ball to go through his legs just before it reached the England two-goal hero.
ET 15 min +2: Anderson crosses long from the right for Eze on the other flank … and then the flag goes up for offside.
ET 15 min: Aursnes crosses from the right. Pickford claims confidently on his line. There will be three additional minutes of this first period.
ET 14 min: Bobb rolls a pass in from the right for Nusa, who opens his body and aims a curler towards the bottom left. Guehi throws himself in the road to block at the expense of a corner … which comes to nothing.
VAR: England penalty overturned
ET 12 min: No penalty. Spence deliberately put his leg across Bobb, and Norway are thrown a lifeline!
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ET 10 min: … but did Spence instigate the contact? If he’s stepped across his man on purpose, to deliberately make contact with his man, VAR will get involved. And the referee is indeed asked over to the screen …
Penalty for England!
ET 9 min: Spence dribbles his way down the left. Then along the byline. Then into the box, back upfield and … he draws a clumsy foul from Bobb, who kicks the back of his leg! The referee points straight to the spot.
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ET 7 min: England look very comfortable all of a sudden. Meanwhile more on cablegate, because Jacob Steinberg reports that “Fifa say they have checked the data and there is ‘no peak on the graph from the connected ball heartbeat sensor’.” So that’ll be the last we’ll hear of that. Eh?
ET 5 min: Bellingham did so well to get in ahead of Ostigard there. Quicker to react, and he gets his reward! Meanwhile here’s some more on the camera-cable incident, courtesy of Fox Sports (via Ella Brockway and Beau Dure of our US desk) … according to the network’s initial report, the ball hit the wire, the ref missed it, Norway’s players and manager tried to draw attention to it, VAR didn’t review, and that was that. However now on Fox: “There are reports now that Fifa is saying that [the ball hitting the cable] didn’t happen.” There’s always something with these Fifa lads, isn’t there.
GOAL! Norway 1-2 England (Bellingham 93)
Rogers gets the ball 30 yards out. He takes a touch before pearling a shot towards goal. Nyland tries to claim, but lets the ball squirt out of his arms. It sits up for Bellingham, who can’t miss from six yards! What a World Cup he’s having! That’s six goals now!
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ET 2 min: An England corner from the right. Saka swings it in … but Ajer clears at the near post.
England get the first half of extra time underway. Norway have replaced Heggem with Ostigard.
FULL TIME: Norway 1-1 England
It’s going to extra time!
90 min +8: Bellingham’s not happy about it. But that’s the way it is.
90 min +7: There will probably an extra couple of minutes due to Heggem’s cramp. Then Heggem, in passing back to his keeper, accidentally stands on Bellingham’s ankle. Kane wants a free kick, sending off, all sorts, but neither referee nor VAR shows any interest in escalation.
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90 min +6: Heggem is back on.
90 min +5: England continue to pass and probe. Stones swings in from the right. Bellingham, on the penalty spot, stoops and eyebrows a weak header wide left. Kane claims a penalty for some light shirt pulling, but that’s not going to happen for him.
90 min +4: Heggem eventually gets up, but he’ll be off the park for 30 seconds.
90 min +3: England are pressing energetically again. Norway can’t get out of their final third. Kane hassles Odegaard, then Rogers strips the ball off Heggem, who stays down a moment with cramp. The tension is almost unbearable!
90 min +1: The first of seven additional minutes nearly sees England go ahead in farcical circumstances! Nyland dallies over a clearance with nobody near him. He takes so long that Spence closes him down as he takes his kick … and the rebound very nearly flies into the empty net! Goal kick, though, and what an escape for Norway’s keeper! To be fair, after the incident with the camera cable, he’s due a bit of luck.
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90 min: Norway make a change, too, replacing Moller Wolfe – who was embarrassingly skinned by Saka back there – for Holmgren Pedersen.
89 min: The resulting corner sees Kane shove a defender in the back, and that’s the most obvious of free kicks. The pressure on Norway released. Then another England sub, as the spent Konsa makes way for Rogers.
88 min: Saka drops a shoulder to jink past Moller Wolfe and into the Norway box. He fires a low cross into the centre. With Eze and Kane lurking, waiting to sidefoot home from six yards, Aursnes arrives out of nowhere to hook clear! England so close!
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86 min: O’Reilly is replaced by Spence.
85 min: It’s Nusa versus Konsa again, but this time the winger wins the duel, entering the box before scuffing a poor shot straight at Pickford.
84 min: Odegaard strokes a lovely pass down the inside-left to release Nusa into space, but there are no options in the middle for the winger, who eventually runs slap-bang into Konsa.
83 min: … but the corner doesn’t beat the first man, and then Odegaard harmlessly wedges a pass down the left out of play for a goal kick.
82 min: England can’t get out. Nusa advances down the left and wins a corner off Saka. Before it comes in, Haaland makes a point of tightening his ponytail. He’s intending to bang a header goalwards.
80 min: Bobb, Berge and Berg ping a lot of triangles down the right. No way through. Then the ball’s shuttled to the other flank, Nusa floating a diagonal into the mixer; it’s headed clear by O’Reilly.
78 min: Saka sends an inswinger into the Norway box from the right. It’s dangerous. The ball goes all the way across the face of goal, but Anderson can’t get on the end of it to poke into the bottom left. Goal kick.
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76 min: … Pickford punches clear. Not very far. Aursnes sends a bouncing bomb through a crowded box. Moller Wolfe flaps a header goalwards, over Pickford and off the crossbar! The ball eventually squirts out for a goal kick. England have been second best in this half, and the luck’s been with them. Can they find a way to turn the tide?
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75 min: Nusa probes down the left and wins Norway another corner. From which …
74 min: Bobb dribbles into the England box from the right. He drops a shoulder and nearly gets past O’Reilly, whose challenge isn’t convincing … but the defender does just enough to force the ball back to Pickford.
73 min: Nyland’s weak pass out from the back is intercepted by Saka … but Saka can’t control and the Norway keeper gets away with a poor one.
71 min: The game restarts, with James having replaced Gordon.
70 min: Yep, that Nyland clearance definitely hit an overhead camera cable. Norway were fuming, as it directly led to the England goal, and play should have been stopped. But here we all are.
68 min: Nusa and Bobb come on for Schjelderup and Sorloth … and that’s drinks. England host the second-half snacks, and they serve up some vindaloo cooking sauce. Keith Allen and Cheese Guy from Blur have an awful lot to answer for.
66 min: Gordon’s looping cross from the left nearly drops to Kane, on the right-hand corner of the Norway six-yard box … but Moller Wolfe nips in to clear, just in time.
64 min: Regarding the Heggem strike, Haaland really didn’t need to push Anderson out of the way. An unnecessary and costly act. England have got away with a couple of big ones today; Norway have let a couple of big situations slip.
62 min: England are struggling to get out of their half at the moment. Meanwhile on the subject of disallowing goals, here’s Beau Dere, with a message from the USA, on something that hasn’t been shown on UK television: “There’s some chatter that a ball hit the camera cable before the England goal,” he reports. Nyland’s clearance, by all accounts, which led to England picking up the possession that led to Bellingham’s goal. Norway were reportedly livid at half-time. More on that when we have it.
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60 min: Ryerson makes way for Aursnes.
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59 min: England deal with this corner easily enough. Then Ryerson goes down, so play stops.
NO GOAL: Norway 1-1 England
57 min: No goal! But because the ball hadn’t come into play when Haaland made the foul, the corner will be retaken.
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56 min: … but did Haaland shove Anderson over in the build-up? VAR calls the referee over to the monitor.
GOAL! Norway 2-1 England (Heggem 55)
It’s third time lucky for Norway from a corner! The ball comes in from the right. England don’t deal with it. Sorloth whip-cracks a shot from the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Pickford blocks, but the ball breaks left to Heggem, who extends a leg and turns home from a couple of yards!
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54 min: Ryerson sends a dangerous corner through the six-yard box. It comes off Stones and out for a third corner in the sequence, from the right again.
53 min: Kane clears the corner with a power header. The ball comes straight back and Haaland plants a downward header towards the bottom left. Pickford shovels the ball around the post, but not in a particularly confident manner. Another corner coming up, this time from the left.
52 min: Sorloth mishits a cross from the right. The ball’s heading over the bar, but not by too much, and Pickford can’t take the chance of it squeaking into the top right. So he turns it over for a corner. From which …
51 min: Saka embarks on his first dribble down the right. He cuts into the box but his shot is easily blocked by Moller Wolfe.
50 min: This second half has been a bit more combative than the first. Less of a nod is being made to conserving energy. Both teams up for it. Kári Tulinius called it well.
48 min: Anderson holds onto Haaland for a split second too long, causing the big man great irritation. Haaland eventually shoves him away. They’ll be good pals at Manchester City soon enough.
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47 min: Eze’s free kick pings off the back of his own man Gordon, then over the bar for a goal kick. Not the greatest of first touches for the half-time sub. Onwards and upwards.
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46 min: Gordon dribbles in from the left and pings a pass to Kane, who draws a clumsy foul from Berge, just to the left of the D. Another big chance coming up for England here. “Sørloth really made a mess of that two versus one,” writes Nicolas. “He’s just not bringing enough quality on the ball and sharp decision making to exploit England’s defensive weaknesses. Would rather see Bobb in his place.”
England get the second half started. They’ve made two changes, Saka and Eze coming on for Madueke and the presumably ill Rice. “Both teams started with a clear plan to conserve energy,” begins Kári Tulinius, “but both sides got pulled into the logic of the moment: it’s a World Cup quarter-final, the only thing bigger than that is a World Cup semifinal, you gotta run your head off. It’ll be interesting to see who’s got deeper reserves of energy in the second half. Worryingly for England, Haaland’s barely even broken into a jog.”
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Never mind Ellie Goulding … on ITV it’s the Anthony Barry half-time show! “I feel like the environment, the climate impacted the first 20-25 minutes,” England’s assistant manager says. “It impacted our offensive power … the goal with an undeserved wonder-shot … we got an important goal ourselves right before half time … it released the stadium, released our lads and now it is all to play for.”
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Half-time postbag. “Jude Bellingham is handily having the best World Cup an England footballer has had since Paul Gascoigne. If the trend line continues, it’ll be getting into Bobby Charlton territory, he’s been extraordinary” – Christopher Faherty
“Goals win games but also defence. John Stones’ two-on-one defending was outstanding. England may well win from that, I hope they acknowledge it” – Lenny Hz
“You might be doing young Schjelderup a disservice regarding his fortunate ‘cross’. It looked deliberate, and certainly he celebrated as if he’s been practising it all week. If he can’t play he can certainly act” – Gervase Greene
“Guehi trying to out-muscle Haaland is hilarious, almost like he’s never experienced the big fella before” – Stu Smith
“I don’t know how bad the illness was and if he had fever, but between that, the heat, and the humidity, Rice seems to be well and truly cooked” – João André
“I had been quietly confident until the news that Harry had golfed with Donald. Why invite karma?” – RH
“As an expat who grew up with 70s NFL - I did not have Garo Ypremian mentioned in a World Cup MBM on my bingo card! Garo was a Cypriot who was one of the first ‘soccer-style’ kickers in the NFL and was actually one of the best” – Rob Young
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HALF TIME: Norway 1-1 England
It took a while to get going … but it got going. Both sides will have their frustrations after that; both will feel they’ve got enough tools to win, as well. Should be one hell of a second half!
45 min +4: England have the ball in the net again! Bellingham dinks down the inside-right channel to release Kane, who wedges a gentle chip over Nyland and into the net! But the flag immediately goes up for offside, correctly so.
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45 min +3: Norway should have been 2-0 up. Now it’s 1-1, and England’s tails are suddenly up again! Kane whistles a forensic low drive towards the bottom left from 25 yards. Nyland needs two grasps to get the ball under control.
GOAL! Norway 1-1 England (Bellingham 45+2)
It’s that man again! Gordon crosses low from the left. Bellingham picks up possession on the edge of the box, takes a couple of touches down the inside-left channel, then swivels and whips a shot across Nyland and into the right-hand side of the net!
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45 min +1: The first of four additional second-quarter first-half minutes goes by.
45 min: A corner for England on the right. Rice takes it. Again the delivery’s no good. The ball pings back to him, and he’s flagged offside. Rice hasn’t been on it today at all, to the extent that you wonder if he’s really over that bug.
44 min: Guehi’s loose ball in the centre circle is nearly snaffled by Schjelderup … but Rice manages to intercept, just before Norway break. But then seconds later, there’s another counter attack, and for a moment Sorloth and Haaland are two on one with Stones! But Sorloth, down the inside-right can’t find or make the pass to release Haaland down the inside-left channel, and when he cuts into the box and shoots himself, it’s blocked. Haaland is fuming, and no wonder. Norway should be two up. Outstanding defence from Stones, to be fair.
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42 min: Odegaard goes long. It’s Haaland versus Guehi and Stones … and the big striker bothers both defenders in short order to win a throw. No idea how he came out on top in that two-versus-one battle, other than Norway’s confidence is high now, and England are beginning to question themselves. How they’d love a response before the break.
40 min: England are rocking, their heads muddled, and now they allow Sorloth to send a rising drive over the bar from the right-hand corner of the box. England then ship possession cheaply, giving Odegaard the opportunity to aim for the bottom right. He doesn’t hit the shot cleanly, but Pickford makes a meal of collecting, though collect he eventually does. England need to clear their heads and quick.
38 min: That might not have been intentional. But the cross was hit at some pace, and Pickford didn’t read the swerve at all. Kane insists he was clipped by Berg, but there didn’t seem much in it. Berg picked the ball pretty cleanly off Kane’s toe from behind. And no idea why England collectively stopped, allowing Schjelderup to advance on their box.
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GOAL! Norway 1-0 England (Schjelderup 36)
Kane is stripped of possession by Berg near the centre circle. England stop to demand a free kick, but Norway play on. Schjelderup advances down the left, cuts infield, and hits an outswinging cross that somehow swerves across Pickford, off the right-hand post, and in!
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35 min: Ryerson makes good down the right and crosses long. Haaland rises highest at the far stick and plants a header straight at Pickford. But then …
33 min: Stones gives the ball away, panicked by Norway’s press on the edge of his own box. The ball breaks to Haaland, who fortunately for England turns the wrong way, allowing Pickford to collect. Had Haaland been on his toes, England were in all sorts of trouble. Stones breathes again.
32 min: Ryerson sticks out a leg and brings down Gordon. The tackle’s a doozy. Rice takes the free kick … and once again his delivery fails to beat the first man. Ryerson makes up for his mistake by hooking clear.
30 min: Odegaard tries to release Schjelderup down the inside-left channel, but Konsa is covering and shepherds the ball back to Pickford. Norway aren’t doing much up front.
29 min: Kane really connects with the free kick, but it’s always clearing the crossbar. Local hero Garo Yepremian would have been proud of that.
28 min: Bellingham twists and turns down the inside-right channel and is stopped clumsily by Ajer. A free kick just to the right of the D. Kane and Bellingham’s eyes light up.
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27 min: The game restarts. “I love the appreciation for Lloyd Cole and the Commotions,” writes Daniel Halladay. “I was in fact listening to their terrific Rattlesnakes album shortly before kickoff and it always makes me very happy to see them mentioned, particularly as they aren’t well known here in the States.” On this subject, Lloyd has a pertinent question for all England fans …
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26 min: Kex and Plopp, though!
25 min: Thomas Tuchel gives England some beneficial tactical advice in a frenzied style.
24 min: … it’s drinks. And snacks? Yes snacks! Norway take care of first-quarter duties, and offer some beer, to help wash down some chocolate-covered savoury corn snacks. (Your regular reminder that Smash! is nowhere near as good a confectionary brand name as Sweden’s Kex or Plopp.)
23 min: O’Reilly dinks a cross in from the left. Too long, but Madueke recycles on the right and pearls a shot-cum-cross through the six-yard box. Any touch and it’s in. But the only nearby white shirt is O’Reilly, wide left of goal. The ball hits him and looks to be squirting out for a goal kick, but Heggem is taking no chances and hooks out for a throw. But before that can be taken …
22 min: O’Reilly crosses from the left. Norway allow the ball to bounce in their area twice, an egregious error, but they get away with it, Madueke standing in pretty much the only place he can’t connect.
21 min: Both teams almost grind to a halt. The heat beginning to kick in.
19 min: England are beginning to press Norway back. Gordon is seeing a lot of the ball down the left. He feeds Anderson, who crosses low, dangerously so. Bellingham swings a leg at the ball on the penalty spot, but doesn’t connect. The ball sails out for a goal kick.
17 min: Gordon drops deep on the left and sends an inswinger into the box. Ajer heads clear with Madueke lurking behind, waiting to connect.
16 min: Gordon turns on the jets and nearly gets past Ryerson. He settles for a corner, which Rice saunters over to take. Rice’s delivery is beyond awful, though, flat and straight at the first man, who hoicks clear.
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14 min: … and now England have their turn. Energy conservation is the order of the day.
13 min: Norway keep on keep-balling. The crowd amuse themselves with the first Viking Row of the day. Clap stomp clap.
12 min: Norway play some keep-ball at the back, just as they did for long stretches against Brazil.
11 min: Madueke caught offside again. This isn’t going to go down well with Tommy.
10 min: Sorloth probes down the right but there’s no way past O’Reilly. Norway beginning to show a bit in attack. “I have a tech support comment,” begins Peter Oh, unpromisingly, let’s be honest, but stick with it. “How many assistants with tablet computers does it take to manage a bloody soccer match these days? I’m starting to wonder if ‘It’s Coming Home’ isn’t actually ‘IT is Coming Home’.”
8 min: A ball worked into the England box from the left by Schjelderup. Haaland tries to cushion the ball into the path of Sorloth, but England clear. Both teams looking lively.
7 min: Anderson sprays a diagonal to Madueke on the right. Madueke prepares to take on Schjelderup, but he’s been caught offside and up goes the flag. On the touchline, Tuchel throws a minor tanty at his winger’s inability to look along the line.
6 min: Sorloth dribbles in from the right and nearly releases Haaland down the middle … but Stones has read the danger well, stepping in to intercept his pass.
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5 min: Kane drops deep and looks long for Bellingham down the middle. The pass is overhit and Nyland is able to come to the edge of his box to collect.
4 min: England are enjoying the (three) lions’ share of possession in these early exchanges. Exactly what Thomas Tuchel wanted, as per his pre-match interview.
2 min: It’s now 34 degrees centigrade, with a feel of 42C in the stadium. According to ITV. England are the first to show in attack, Madueke romping down the right before hoicking a wild cross behind for a goal kick.
Norway get the ball rolling. A fine atmosphere in Miami. “As much as I love England and want us to win the Cup, THE Cup, as a lifelong Manchester City fan I’d laugh my socks and pants off if we go down to an Erling Haaland hat-trick,” writes Ewen Atkinson. “I therefore feel zero angst about this England game, which makes a pleasant change.”
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Before kick-off, a moment of silent reflection in honour of Jayden Adams, who played in South Africa’s three group games at the World Cup just last month. Perfectly observed. Sleep well, Jayden.
Incidentally, while we’re on the subject of obnoxious music, you don’t gotta hand it to ITV, who have been funnelling Life Is A Highway into our ears every five minutes during the tournament. So I take it as an official apology that they’ve just used the wonderful Lost Weekend by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions as incidental music. Co-written by our erstwhile golf correspondent Lawrence Donegan, if my memory of the Easy Pieces inner sleeve serves correctly. We might need to revisit the middle eight later, incidentally …
There’s nobody else to blame
I hang my head in a crying shame
There is nobody else to blame
Nobody else except my sweet self
The teams are out! England in white, led by a stern-looking Harry Kane; Norway, who will wear red, by an equally serious Martin Odegaard … though of course Erling Haaland, last in line, wears a look of detached amusement. Anthems to be sung, after which you can turn the volume on your TV set back up. We’ll be off in a few minutes!
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Pre-match postbag: the tying-up of threads. “We (there may be exceptions) want England to win, so let’s get that out the way. Question is, if they’re to lose, who is it better to lose to? Lose here, and it feels like losing a Premier League game, say between the second and third in the table, a point behind the leaders with three weeks to go. Pretty awful, but – depending on exactly how it happened - familiar and understandable. Lose by two goals against Messi’s Argentina, and that’s nearly a final, so there’s the horror of all the what-ifs that go along with that, plus seething resentment that it’ll all be about the great man. France in the final (probably)? Somehow that’s not computing yet, but there’s something numbing about it in prospect. May be a Gallic shrug of the shoulders, in homage?” – Charles Antaki
“There’s been a bit of talk up here about how a lot of Scots seem to root only for whoever happens to be playing England. It’s not strictly true. My new kitten Miguel Thor is not that fussed and just wants a good game of football. His brothers Diego, Carlos and Louis are the same. May the best team win” – Simon McMahon
“Woah woah woah. While Graham Taylor’s treatment by the press was obviously vile, let’s not rewrite history. He flat out refused to pick Waddle or Beardsley despite their scintillating club form and gave the impression he only picked Gascoigne under duress. He was comfortable playing the way he did at Villa, lumping the ball up so a tall striker could head it down to David Platt. Apart from the nadir of Capello, it’s the ugliest football England has ever played, and El Tel was a breath of fresh air the minute he came in” – Rob, London
“Over hearing about the heat. We have prepared as best we can. Also played in a winter World Cup in 2010 and we underperformed” – Kyle Green
“I will carry on booing the hydration breaks thank you very much! Yes they are needed for conditions like this, most people would agree. What I struggle to see is how this rule does need to apply evenly. The two teams impacted by the heat are given the same break and can gain the same advantage, it doesn’t impact any other match or any other result. Given the FA, loathe as I am to credit them, currently allow for cooling breaks at the referees discretion, clearly they think it doesn’t need to apply evenly” – David Meakins
“That golf game made me change my allegiance to Norway. Et tu Kane?” – krishnamoorthy v
Ellie Goulding latest: “Ellie is performing a song now!” reports David Hytner. “So God knows whether she’s on again at HT. This is what she said on her socials earlier: ‘Performing at half-time for England vs Norway has me feeling like truly anything could happen…’ ” From this we can conclude: NFL > Fifa. You didn’t get this sort of confusion with Bad Bunny.
Argentina legend Rattín dies at 84
Some sad news to bring you: Antonio Rattín has died at the age of 84. Rattín won six league titles with Boca Juniors, though he’s best remembered for his defiant reaction to being sent off against England at Wembley in the quarter-finals of the 1966 World Cup. For those unfamiliar with the tale, this is a brilliant potted history from an old Joy of Six, courtesy of the great Barney Ronay. Rest well, Antonio.
Still contentious, still vaguely puzzling and still seen as no more than the silver medal controversy of England’s winning run in 1966 (overshadowed by the brouhaha of Geoff Hurst’s second goal in the final). The sending off of the Argentina captain Antonio Rattin during his team’s quarter-final against England has since been woven into the sporting sub-plot of intercontinental rivalry. More simply, it was a baffling decision; and something of a mini-tragedy in that it robbed that tournament of what might have been one of its outstanding matches.
It was already a feisty game when, 35 minutes in, the German referee Rudolf Kreitlein abruptly ordered Rattin from the field for reasons that remain unclear. Kreitlein later pointed to “violence of the tongue”, the implication being that Rattin, with whom he did not share a language, had been swearing at him (the language point is a little disingenuous: abuse is generally quite easy to pick up in any tongue). Kreitlein didn’t help himself by later adding that he “did not like the look” on Rattin’s face.
Certainly the look on Rattin’s face as he leaves the field still makes for a compelling tableau: there he goes, looking back, cursing, clenching his fists, asking coaching staff for an interpreter to make his case, almost coming back on to the pitch at one point, and gently wiping his hands on a union flag pennant, drawing V-signs and straight-arm type gestures from the home crowd.
This was a tragedy for Rattin, but also a great shame for the tournament. The BBC commentary on the game describes him at the toss as “Antonio Rattin, one of the greatest players in the world”. George Cohen later claimed Argentina were probably the best team England played at the tournament: “They were a very, very good technical side. If they hadn’t resorted to all the physical stuff they might well have beaten us. We saw how good they were when we played them in 1964 [when England were beaten 1-0 in Brazil].”
And still nobody really knows what it was all about. Cohen suggested Rattin was sent off for “trying to run the game”, specifically for opening up an abrasive player-ref dialogue that was, by all reports, quite alien in western European football culture at the time. Among English observers there is a prevailing truism that Argentina had played dirtily. The statistics suggest otherwise: Argentina committed 19 fouls to England’s 33. Cohen, for his part, noted the opposition’s mastery of “the snidey things, the spitting and pulling the short hairs on your neck, pulling your ear”.
Rattin’s view: “Both sides were giving as good as they got. We were not the size of Chinamen, we were big players, but England had some tough characters like Nobby Stiles. The sending-off should never have happened and it wouldn’t have done if I could speak a word of German. All I wanted to do was talk to the referee, but the next thing I knew he was pointing off the pitch. ‘Quiero a un interprete (I want an interpreter).’ I must have said it 20 or 30 times, pointing to my armband.”
Kreitlein pointed to the dressing rooms. Rattin lingered, infuriated, the match was decided by Geoff Hurst’s second-half header, and a World Cup classic that might have been wasn’t.
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A peek inside the England dressing room. Three Lions: the sadness in their eyes.
England vibes man Jordan Henderson – who is technically on a booking tonight and in danger of missing the semis, but, well, y’know – talks to ITV. “[My wrist] is alright thanks. [Smiles broadly if a bit sheepishly] Not me finest hour, I know! … the main job was to go there and win and progress to the quarter-final, and we managed to do that, so that’s the main thing … a tough couple of days … the doctors and surgeons in Kansas were amazing … just delighted to be part of the squad again today … we showed character [against Mexico] and we’ll have to do the same against a very good Norwegian side … good players … a tough test … if we’re the best version of ourselves, I’m confident we’ll go through.”
And could he be fit for a potential semi-final or final? He laughs. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!”
A dispatch from our man Ed Aarons in Miami.
There’s lots of local supporters at the game who have decided to pick sides now that the hosts are out. I just bumped into a giant Mexico fan who has thrown his considerable weight behind Norway after his team was eliminated by England in the last round. He definitely looks the part anyway! Can almost imagine him leading the line with Erling Haaland and Alexander Sorloth.
Pre-match postbag: the conditions. “Silly hydration breaks eh, let’s all boo vociferously. Get over it and grow up! (Not you specifically, Scott, just the increasingly vocal and ill-advised majority who think heatstroke is something you get after the tenth pint in Magaluf.) If the rules apply for one game they have to apply for every game, regardless of whether it’s a rainy night in the North-east or a potentially life-threatening match in Miami. Yes, we all agree the breaks have been completely and cynically commercialised (quelle surprise), but they are obviously necessary in games like this” – Julian Menz
“I hope England trained for the absurd heat by playing walking football” – Ian Copestake
“It seems they calculate ‘feels like’ differently in the USA. A Canadian ‘humidex’ calculator is frightening. It says 33C at 71% RH: the Humidex is: 47 (117F). Only medically supervised work can continue. They’ll need a water break every five minutes - think of the ad revenue! Seriously, that sounds dangerous” – Nigel in balmy 27C Toronto
Thomas Tuchel talks to ITV. “I hope [the players] feel good … I hope they feel prepared … now it’s their moment … they know everything … it’s time to let go and release our energy and give it a go … we need to play with freedom … all-in … that is what a quarter-final is for … Reece James is available but maybe not for 90 minutes … I’d like to have him as an option from the bench … the goal is to stop their front line … height and physicality … we want to be strong from set pieces … we have a strong bench to finish the match off … spend more time in the opponent’s half … especially in these conditions.”
Pre-match postbag: Harry and Don. “In light of today’s revelations about his golfing partners while Stateside, does Harry Kane’s lucky mulligan for the penalty retake in England’s opener against Croatia now not look very suspicious??? Of course it doesn’t, but hey, let’s get the excuses in early, in case England go and win the whole bloody thing!” – Justin Kavanagh
“Trump is a man who has been found in a civil court case to have sexually abused E Jean Carroll (and has been accused of sexual abuse by numerous other women). As President of the United States, his record is demonising immigrants, carrying out illegal wars, tearing up environmental protections and overseas aid, and prioritising the interests of the super rich over those of anyone else. Choosing to play golf with him is a political choice” – Corin Metcalfe
“If Bellingham gets a yellow, Kane only has to call on his mate Orange” – Ian Copestake
England make two changes to the team that started against Mexico. Ezri Konsa takes the troubled right-back spot off the suspended Jarell Quansah, making room for John Stones in the centre of defence. In attack, Noni Madueke starts on the right ahead of Bukayo Saka. Jordan Pickford makes his 18th World Cup appearance, breaking a record jointly held with Peter Shilton for most games played at the finals.
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Norway make one change to their starting XI following the win over Brazil. Andreas Schjelderup, who set up both goals on Sunday, replaces Antonio Nusa, the only player in the Norway squad on a booking.
The teams
Norway: Nyland, Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Wolfe, Odegaard, Berge, Berg, Sorloth, Haaland, Schjelderup.
Subs: Tangvik, Selvik, Thorsby, Ostigard, Larsen, Aursnes, Bjorkan, Pedersen, Thorstvedt, Aasgaard, Bobb, Hauge, Langas, Falchener, Nusa.
England: Pickford, Konsa, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane.
Subs: Dean Henderson, Trafford, Rashford, Chalobah, Burn, Mainoo, Rogers, Watkins, Eze, Toney, James, Jordan Henderson, Saka, Spence.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
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Pre-match postbag: the Taylor letters. “With you 100% about Graham Taylor. He seemed out of his depth at the time but I think history has shown that he did the best he could what he was given. Of the three years he was in charge, he was without Paul Gascoigne for a good half of that time, he lost John Barnes in the ‘94 qualifiers lost Barnes to injury in the 94 qualifiers, had a lot of the Italia 90 team retire - Bryan Robson, Peter Shilton, Terry Butcher - or on their way out- Gary Lineker, Chris Waddle etc. Any fans moaning about whatever may happen later tonight would do good to remember an England midfield once consisting of Andy Sinton, Carlton Palmer, Tony Daley and David Batty. RIP Graham” – Dave Estherby
“In 2012, I saw Graham Taylor at Oslo airport. As he was walking to his flight, dozens of England fans showed enormous, genuine affection for him, and he responded graciously and generously. A great man. His travelling companion, Alan Green, had been disturbing everyone in the business class lounge by reading his contract out loud line-by-line and moaning” – Andrew Goudie
Feeling stressed ahead of kick-off? Good! What would the point of any of this be, if you simply didn’t care? Just thank your lucky stars you’re not lining up in the tunnel, waiting, contemplating, anticipating, possibly hyperventilating. Some players deal with this sort of thing better than others. Look!
… and while we’re on the subject of photo galleries, this exercise in slit-scanning – a process which has a longer and more varied history in sports photography than you may imagine – is great fun as well.
You won’t need reminding that tonight’s game could go to extra time and penalty kicks. So if it indeed goes all the way, what on earth should Harry Kane do if he wins the toss? Mo Salah has the answer …
England have four players walking the disciplinary tightrope this evening. Jude Bellingham was booked against DR Congo, while Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly and Declan Rice were all cautioned against Mexico. A yellow card for any of them tonight, and they’ll miss the semi-final should England get through. Norway have only one player on a yellow in winger Antonio Nusa. (Yellow cards were wiped at the start of the knockouts, and will be again after the quarters.)
Early team news: Konsa at right-back, Madueke for Saka
Some early England team news from David Hytner.
Thomas Tuchel is ready to play Ezri Konsa at right-back, with Reece James still not fully fit. John Stones is expected to come into central defence. On the right wing, it is set to be Noni Madueke rather than Bukayo Saka, who continues to struggle for 100 percent fitness.
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Uefa have been throwing ersatz Super Bowl shapes at the Champions League final for a few years, and now Fifa are getting in on the act. Ellie Goulding, a big England fan, will perform a half-time show this evening. Not sure how long that’s scheduled to last. Factor in the hydration breaks and we could be here quite a while. “It’s a precursor to what will come at the final maybe,” deadpans David Hytner, upon breaking all of this news to me. “Getting everyone ready for the idea.”
England have got a pretty good goalscorer of their own, of course. Harry Kane saw the Three Lions through the group easily enough with two against Croatia and the clincher against Panama (and the less said about the other game the better) …
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 2 | Croatia | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Ghana | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Panama | 3 | -4 | 0 |
… then in the knockouts, that goal against the DR Congo and another at the Azteca. It’s been a campaign of fits and bursts really, but England are becoming masters of tournament football, and getting the job done. Another deep run is on.
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Norway’s progress has been – this is not breaking news - all about Erling Haaland. Two goals against Iraq. Another brace against Senegal. A nice rest while the B team got some minutes against France.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 3 | 8 | 9 |
| 2 | Norway | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Senegal | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Iraq | 3 | -11 | 0 |
Then in the knockouts, Haaland notched a late winner against Côte d’Ivoire, before sending Norwegian bunnies Brazil out of the competition in swashbuckling style. If Erling’s on one, all bets are off.
So how did we all get here? To tell the story properly, let’s go back to the beginning and reacquaint ourselves with both squads. In truth, not too much has changed since then … other than we’d need to crowbar in a bit about golf at the end of the England page. Oh Harry.
Some more on the conditions … courtesy of David Hytner, our man live from the coal face.
Tell you what Scott, it’s crazy hot inside the stadium. Myself, Barney Ronay and Ed Aarons have just set up in the press box, sat at our seats for five minutes and we’re all dripping in sweat. Imagine playing in this. The temperature at the moment is 33C. The real feel is 42C. According to Ed’s app, the humidity is 71pc.
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Weather report. It’s currently 33C (91F) in Miami, and not expected to get any cooler come kick-off time. Once humidity is factored in, it’s likely to feel around 41C (106F). Phew, what a scorcher, etc. Will that give Norway an advantage? They played Brazil under 31C sun in New Jersey last weekend; the most extreme weather England have dealt with so far has been a 25C ramble under cloud, also in New Jersey, against Panama. So it’s a toss-up between experience and fatigue levels: you decide, and the truth will out. The conditions aren’t expected to exceed Fifa guidelines, so there’s no chance of the game being called off … but there could be a weather delay should lightning strike within eight miles of Miami Stadium, in which case it’s a 30-minute postponement, the countdown clock reset every time there’s more electrical activity. But for now, fingers crossed for 5pm local time/10pm BST/7am AEST … and stay hydrated all y’all.
Preamble
England won their first five games against Norway, between 1937 and 1980, to the cumulative score of 24-2. No wonder, then, that the commentator Bjørge Lillelien went off on one like he did when Norway eventually chalked up their first victory against the Three Lions in September 1981. And if you haven’t yet read Lars Sivertsen’s entertaining account of that famous rant, right that wrong immediately!
It’s been a lot closer between the two nations since then. In six subsequent meetings, England are two wins to one up with three draws, but it’s Norway’s sole victory that lingers longest in the memory: Oslo 1993, and a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win that marked the beginning of the end for poor old Graham Taylor. The famous yelps of “Do I not like that!” and “Can we not knock it?!” came earlier in that ill-fated campaign against Poland, but Phil Neal stole the show in Oslo with his spot-on impersonation of a lyrebird, while Taylor himself delivered a couple of off-screen “aw fucking hell”s that were a masterclass in comic timing and bathos. He was a good man, Graham; time’s been kind.
It’s been a quotable feast through the years, so here’s to some more freestyle effin’ and jeffin’ tonight. All of the ingredients are ripe for choice comment: Erling Haaland and Harry Kane are scoring goals for fun; Arsenal’s title-winning generals, Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard, will face off in midfield; and it’s going to be real hot in Miami. Both of these teams harbour genuine hopes of going all the way in this tournament, so here’s to a (no-doubt-fraught) classic. Good luck everyone, may the best team hand out one hell of a beating. Kick-off is at 5pm local time/10pm BST/7am AEST. It’s on! Can you hear me?!? It’s on!!!!!
