England's World Cup Semifinal Qualification Marred...

By Ishaan Kapoor — 12 July 2026 — 3 min read

England’s path to the semifinals

England has secured a spot in the World Cup semifinals after a hard-fought victory against Norway in Miami. The match, which extended to 122 minutes, saw England emerge with a 2-1 win in extra time. This marks England‘s return to the semifinal stage, having previously reached it as hosts in 1966, and then in 1990 and 2018.

The quarter-final encounter was described as incident-filled, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice for England. His goals came in the 47th and 93rd minutes. Following the final whistle, England‘s players, visibly exhausted, celebrated on the pitch, while Captain Harry Kane joined his teammates in acknowledging the travelling supporters.

Tuchel’s assessment and player reactions

Despite the victory, England manager Thomas Tuchel expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s performance. He stated, “We got lucky,” and highlighted that the team “made life very, very difficult for ourselves.” Tuchel criticized the performance as “sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.” He attributed England‘s advancement to “pure mentality.”

Bellingham, when asked about his manager’s comments, acknowledged the difficulty of the match, saying, “It’s difficult out there, it’s a tough shift. All the players have put in a tough shift.” He also defended the team’s approach, noting, “You can’t win every game popping the ball and making 1,000 passes, sometimes you have to win dirty and we did that today.”

Former England players, including Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney, praised Tuchel‘s candid assessment. Rooney commented that Tuchel was “spot on in terms of the mentality” and highlighted the team’s character, especially after Ezri Konsa‘s injury and Declan Rice‘s early replacement. Matt Upson, another former England defender, noted that Norway appeared likely to win the game with 25 minutes remaining in regular time.

Controversy surrounding Bellingham’s equalizer

The match was not without controversy, particularly concerning Bellingham‘s first goal. Footage broadcast by FOX Sports suggested that Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland‘s goal kick, which initiated the play leading to Bellingham‘s equalizer, might have struck an overhead Spidercam cable.

According to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) Laws of the Game, if the ball strikes a fixture hanging over the field of play, including a camera cable, the referee should stop play and restart with a dropped ball. However, neither match officials nor FIFA officially confirmed any contact. Former FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg, an analyst for FOX Sports, explained that a restart would have been necessary if contact was identified.

Norway‘s frustration was evident, with manager Ståle Solbakken engaging in a lengthy discussion with the referee at half-time. The incident also brought attention to the connected ball technology used in the World Cup, which tracks real-time data. It remains unknown whether this technology detected any contact with the cable.

The debate over Bellingham‘s equalizer was followed by further drama when Norway‘s potential go-ahead goal by Torbjørn Heggem in the 56th minute was disallowed by VAR due to a foul by Erling Haaland. England will now prepare for their semifinal match in Atlanta.

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