MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – Jude Bellingham locked arms with teammate Harry Kane as England fans belted out the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”
Bellingham certainly earned the serenade.
He scored twice on Saturday – a first-half equalizer and the goal in the third minute of extra time – to power England past Norway 2-1 and into the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2018.
The Real Madrid star has now equaled Kane with six goals in the tournament, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi and one behind Norway’s Erling Haaland, who was kept clean by England. Bellingham also scored twice in the round of 16 as England defeated co-hosts Mexico.
England, winners of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title game, are now one victory away. The Three Lions will face Argentina in the semi-finals.
“The game is broken down into a lot of different aspects. Some of it is technical, tactical,” Bellingham said. “For me, the biggest one is psychological and how you can manage setbacks, how you can manage adversity. This team showed once again that they can do that and that’s a really valuable skill and trait to have.”
Not everyone was thrilled with England’s performance.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” coach Thomas Tuchel said in a controversial interview with Fox Sports. “The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but not happy with the performance … in any sense.”
Tuchel clarified in his press conference that he was “proud and happy” with the way his team had overcome the difficulties, but added, “I’m also a football coach and I also have demands. … I think we can play faster. I think we can play more clinically.”
Bellingham appeared to disagree with his coach’s criticism as England prevailed in the South Florida heat and humidity, with temperatures reaching 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) early in the warm-up.
“Well, whatever,” Bellingham said, shaking his head. “It’s tough out there. It’s a tough change. My thoughts and appreciation go out to the players out there who made a big difference.”
Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36th minute for Norway, a team that reached its first quarter-finals and took the internet by storm with the “Viking line” and charisma of Haaland, their fearsome 6-foot forward.
Haaland was left off the mark for the first time in this World Cup. The Manchester City star sat dejected on the bench after being separated from Jorgen Strand Larsen in the second half of extra time.
“It wasn’t a difficult decision to take him off,” Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said. “He was done. I probably should have taken him off 10 minutes earlier… He also got a dead leg in the second half, so that combined with the fatigue. He did everything he could.”
Norway almost took a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute when Torbjørn Heggem beat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. After a video review, the goal was disallowed due to a foul on Haaland in the area. Haaland was also denied by Pickford in a pointless header in the first half.
Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, fired a shot off the right post and into the net to stun an England side that had dominated possession up to that point. Bellingham’s close range equalizer drew a roar from that crowd which included Mick Jagger and England great David Beckham.
Schjelderup, who scored both of Haaland’s goals in Norway’s round-of-16 win over Brazil, celebrated by spreading his arms wide and looking out at the crowd as his teammates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Meanwhile, Kane sat near midfield, clutching his leg and glaring at the officials. No foul was called.
Moments before Bellingham equalized, a goal kick from Norway resulted in the ball coming into contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England’s Elliot Anderson. The ball was eventually awarded to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot at the far post. Under the rule, if the ball had been spotted hitting the cable, play would have stopped and a ball would have been used to determine possession. FIFA later said the sensor on the ball showed it did not touch the cable.
There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honor of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa, whose death was announced earlier on Saturday. By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer
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