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Jude Bellingham scored a crucial double to lead England to a 2-1 victory over Norway this Saturday in the quarter-finals of the , held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, and secured a place in the tournament's semi-finals.
The match started with the Norwegians taking the lead: Andreas Schjelderup opened the scoring in the 36th minute with a clean shot that surprised the English defense.
Bellingham responded almost immediately. In the 45th minute, just before halftime, the English midfielder equalized the match and changed the course of the game.
At the start of the second half, the English manager made two substitutions at once: Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze came on for Madueke and Rice, respectively.
Norway thought they had regained the lead in the 55th minute when T. Heggem scored, but the VAR disallowed the goal for a foul, denying the Scandinavians what would have been a 2-1 advantage.
The match remained tied during the following minutes, with both teams searching for the decisive goal. Erling Haaland, who came into the match as one of the tournament's top scorers with seven goals, failed to score and was substituted in the 106th minute without having found the net.
It was Bellingham who resolved the match in the 93rd minute, with the score still tied, to score the 2-1 final goal that sank Norway and sparked English celebration.
The statistics reflected a very balanced match: 48% possession for Norway compared to 52% for England, and nearly identical shots (13 to 14). The most notable difference was in shots on goal: eight for England compared to only four for Norway, highlighting the greater efficiency of the English in the clearer chances.
Norway, which reached this quarter-finals after eliminating Brazil 2-1 in the round of 16 with a double from Haaland, has reached this stage for the first time in its World Cup history. The Nordic team returned to the tournament after 28 years of absence since France 1998, making its participation a historic milestone for Scandinavian football, despite the elimination.
England, for its part, had just defeated Mexico 3-2 in the round of 16 while playing with ten men for over thirty minutes, in another match where Bellingham was also a key player.
With their spot in the semifinals secured, England will await to find out who their opponent will be: the winner of the match between Argentina and Switzerland, also taking place this Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The semifinal is scheduled for Wednesday, July 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
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