England beat Norway 2-1 after extra time on Saturday to reach the World Cup semi-finals in a last-eight match packed with drama and controversy.
Telegraph Sport looks at some of the key talking points:
There is some World Cup heritage in goals against England that started out as crosses: notably Ronaldinho against England in Shizuoka 24 years ago. Norway's Andreas Schjelderup was surely looking for Erling Haaland when he struck a left-footed ball from the left after 35 minutes. When he connected it never looked quick enough or sufficiently deceptive to beat Jordan Pickford.
But beat Pickford it did, and the England goalkeeper withdrew his glove at the last moment in what looked like a judgment that the ball was going out of play. It was a strangely flighted delivery, but there is no question that it was all within Pickford's grasp.
In the BBC 5 Live commentary position, former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson said that Pickford had made an error. "Jordan Pickford has completely misread it," Robinson said. "It's a lucky cross that has gone in the top corner."
These are the stakes for Pickford – and all England goalkeepers. David Seaman will always be remembered, chiefly, for that misjudgment in 2002. Peter Shilton will be remembered for failing to beat Diego Maradona to the punch in 1986. Norway had not looked like scoring until that moment.
Perhaps the biggest piece of fortune England had was when the ball appeared to hit Spidercam – the Fifa-approved broadcast camera that is suspended above the pitch on wires – and diverted into the path of Elliot Anderson, who started the move that ended in Bellingham scoring England's equaliser.
Credit: ITV 1/FIFA World Cup 2026
Stale Solbakken, the Norway manager, was furious but Fifa said its VAR team did not believe that the ball struck Spidercam as the sensors in the ball did not detect any contact.
Declan Rice's 67th game of the season for his club and for his country just proved to be one too far – he came off at half-time with what the early reports suggested was an illness.
The Arsenal midfielder has given everything this season for his club in their Premier League title triumph and the run to the Champions League final. Thomas Tuchel regards him as indispensable in just the same way as Mikel Arteta. Martin Odegaard, who has played much less for Arsenal this season, went a lot longer into this game and had a lot more energy. Such are the divergent fortunes of footballers in a World Cup summer.
Declan Rice could not continue after half-time - Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Perhaps Rice will be more judicious about when he can – and cannot – play in the future. He has been carrying a calf injury throughout this World Cup. He soldiered on superbly against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, but this was too much for him. The big question is why Tuchel never saw fit to rest him or give Kobbie Mainoo a chance.
The Manchester United man is still yet to play a minute at this World Cup finals. Mainoo sat on the sidelines as Tuchel tried every other alternative: the right-back Reece James, or the No 10 Jude Bellingham. Even Morgan Rogers played in a deep midfield role.
A push by Erling Haaland on his new Manchester City team-mate Anderson saved England in the second half when Norway thought they had taken the lead again from a corner.
This time it was the VAR review that changed the mind of French referee Clément Turpin, who was called to the monitor and decided that, in the build-up to Torbjorn Heggem's finish from close range, there had been a foul by Haaland.
Certainly Anderson went down in a manner no one could miss, but it seemed that it was the dramatic nature of the fall that made up the mind of VAR.
Pickford had originally saved from Patrick Berg and once again England looked vulnerable at a corner. Throughout the second half, as their grip on the game slipped, Tuchel's players looked increasingly weak when it came to defending set-pieces. They were preoccupied with Haaland, but Norway had plenty of dangerous players when the ball was sent in at pace.
Odegaard had ever greater control once his Arsenal team-mate Rice had been forced to go off at half-time and the possession drifted back towards Norway. The foul on Anderson was committed just before the corner was taken – and the ball was dead – and as a result the corner was taken again.
This was an England team who changed continually from half-time onwards, in terms of personnel and shape. The substitution of Rice at the halfway break was always likely to have a profound effect, especially given the reluctance of Tuchel to bring on Mainoo as a like-for-like replacement.
Bukayo Saka came on for Noni Madueke at half-time as a straight switch in the right-wing spot, but it was Eberechi Eze who came on for Rice, but was moved into the No 10 role, as Bellingham dropped deeper in the same 4-2-3-1 system. Tuchel soon decided he did not like that idea and brought James from right-back to take the place alongside Anderson.
Eze was moved wide left, with Bellingham restored to the No 10. At that point England had a No 10 as a left-winger, a right-back as a midfielder and Ezri Konsa, a centre-back, at right-back. Djed Spence would come on for Nico O'Reilly as a left-back. Eventually Tuchel would also send James back into the right-back position. But that meant Rogers, a natural No 10, playing as one of the two deeper midfielders.
Then, finally, with Haaland off, and England defending, Tuchel went the full Azteca. He brought on Dan Burn for Bellingham to give more heft in a five-man back line, and England just invited Norway to send crosses into the void. It had worked once in Mexico and it worked again in Miami.
