Jude Bellingham's star shines as risk-averse England advance to World Cup semifinals over tepid Norway

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The game between Norway and England had several inherently exciting buzzwords attached to it: World Cup; quarterfinal; golden boot race; Miami (even if that one was not wholly accurate); Saturday. Yet when the two teams hit the pitch on a hot and humid evening in South Florida, entertainment was not what either side strove for even as England notched a 2-1 win to reach their second World Cup semifinal in the last three editions.

Instead, the two teams took a conservative approach in one of the most anticipated games of the tournament so far, despite boasting two of the game's greatest goalscorers in Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, the former on seven goals and the latter on six, well within reaching distance of Argentina's Lionel Messi and France's Kylian Mbappe with eight each. Neither Kane nor Haaland were invisible, but neither player was actually front and center on Saturday, either. Safety seemed to be the priority, the tight margins of making or missing a World Cup semifinal perhaps weighing on everyone a little bit too much. 

A tepid World Cup quarterfinal played out tepidly at Hard Rock Stadium, both Norway and England eager to slip into an admirable and effective defensive shape, but almost forgetting that there was a job to do on the other end. For 28 long minutes at the start of the game, there was not a single shot to be had, though Kane finally put that streak to an end with a miss shortly after the water break. It was only then the game livened up because Norway, out of nowhere, decided to play soccer.

Naturally, Haaland was the first to have a meaningful crack at goal and forced Jordan Pickford into a save that brought the England fans a sigh of relief. The relaxation period did not last very long. Seconds later, Norway charged at England's goal again and Andreas Schjelderup's cross instead turned into a goal that gave the first-time World Cup quarterfinalists a 1-0 lead.

"I think the game split into loads of different facets," England's Jude Bellingham as he reflected post-match. "Some of it's technical, tactical. For me, the biggest one is psychological and how you can manage setbacks, how you can manage adversity and this team showed again that they can do it and that's a really valuable skill and trait to have going into this stage of the tournament."

It was the shot in the arm the game needed because England, the favorites to win the game and one of the oddsmakers' choice to win the World Cup, learned their lesson the hard way. They, too, should actually play some soccer in the hopes of finding an equalizer. After a full of shots from Norway that only added to England's stress, the idea that doing the most obvious thing possible might actually reap some rewards finally sunk in. Bellingham led the charge, eventually executing a wonderful move after Anthony Gordon sent the ball in his direction. The star midifelder did receive a helping hand of sorts as the ball hit FIFA's spider cam first before recycling back into play, something he and head coach Thomas Tuchel said they did not see.

"That was unlucky for us," Norway head coach Staale Solbakken said. "The ball straight down from the sky so it changes direction. It became a misunderstanding among our players and it was a bad moment for us but we can't do anything about that. I don't think we will play the game again so that's how it is."

It was the moment of star quality this game had waited for and an all-important moment for the first half to end on. Surely, these teams would want to finish things off in 90 minutes and had realized a little bit of progressive passing might go a long way.

Right?

The level scoreline served Norway and England's unexciting tendencies just fine, setting up for a second half that was more drab than the first. The teams combined for 0.49 expected goals in between the half-hour mark and the halftime break, but in the entirety of the second half, they collectively drummed up 0.28 expected goals from seven shots. Norway's most notable opportunities came from set pieces, their corners only so inspiring. They appeared to have another go-ahead goal early in the second half before it was chalked off for a foul, the lone birght spot of the second half. Haaland and Kane were not getting particularly involved, either, the Norway goalscorer only notching one shot while the England captain didn't register a single one after the break.

That did not change, somehow, as the prospect of extra time on a painfully muggy day loomed. The chosen monotony of the game had set in. Extra time is what these teams had earned, their risk-averse nature a natural punishment for their selections during a World Cup that has otherwise been defined by outright entertainment.

"In general, I think it was not a high-level game," Tuchel said. "I think we['ve] had better games in general. We had a lot of momentum swings for both teams so full credit to the team. We found a way. We're in the last four which is, of course, the most important but the analyzing head of me and the football coach in me still thinks we can and have to play better football."

Thankfully, Bellingham seemed not to get the memo. A game crying out for a star got one in the midfielder, who now has four goals and an assist in five games at his first World Cup, even if his second on Saturday was not as brilliant as his first. It was a classic example of why stars matter, though – goalkeeper Orjan Nylard's blunder by failing to catch a long shot from Morgan Rogers that darted towards him early on in extra time meant it landed straight in Bellingham's path. Without an opposing defender in sight, Bellingham had an easy job in front of him and sent the ball into the back of an empty net.

"World class performance from a world class player in big, big moments and crucial moments so absolute top class," Tuchel said.

It was enough for England to finally wrestle some semblance of control over the game, especially as Norway appeared to concede a penalty only for it to be called back after yet another VAR check. In reality, though, the rest of the match offered a stark reminder of which team was the newcomers to the World Cup quarterfinals and which one was not. Norway's defensive resolve melted away in one go, and with Haaland out for the final 15 minutes of the game with a dead leg, they would need to search for goals elsewhere. Unfortunately, the combination of events allowed Tuchel to slip into his conservative playing style one last time, not that he had ever fully abandoned it. Norway no longer had their greatest threat on the pitch and even if they did, he had been more or less neutralized some time ago. Preserving a narrow lead was finally the practical choice, even if it was not for 90 minutes.

"I am impressed with the shift that they put in, the effort, the team spirit, the belief and to overcome adversity and to dig in and find ways to win is on the absolutely highest level," Tuchel said. "They cannot get enough praise for that but I am also a football coach and I think we can play better."

Bellingham characterized the series of events differently, disagreeing outright with his coach. He said "no comment" when asked about Tuchel's comments about being lucky and emphasized the difficulty of the conditions on the pitch, both in terms of the elements and the opponent.

"Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those kinds of conditions against Erling Haaland, [Martin] Odegaard, [Antonio] Nusa, [Alexander] Sorloth," Bellingham said. "That's not an easy team to play against so I think we've tried to create a positive environment. We should continue that going into the final four. I can't speak highly enough of the lads. You're not going to win every game pumping the ball and making 1,000 passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty and we've done that again tonight."

England's uninspiring approach is not exactly a losing one, the cringeworthy adage about defense winning championships exists for a reason, after all, and Tuchel's job is to win a World Cup. Nearly a week after an inspiring 3-2 win at Estadio Azteca against tournament co-hosts Mexico, though, this game devolved into something else entirely. It was a sign that they were channeling a title-winning mode but one that ran the risk of devaluing a winning strategy by prioritizing the desire to simply not lose. Time will tell if it proves costly, they will like their chances against Argentina, the current world champions with a shaky defense and a habit for dramatic games, or Switzerland, a newcomer to the World Cup quarterfinals who will certainly be the underdogs if they face England in the semifinals on Wednesday. Thirty extra minutes on the field when they will have just three days in between this game and the next is definitely not ideal, though their eventual semifinal opponent will face the same reality.

This was not the first important match whose significance resulted in a dull showing from both teams, nor will it be the last. The game was not a classic nor did it have to be, even if it would have been fun if it was. England, though, reached the World Cup semifinals by resting on their laurels -- and knowing they could afford to do so. That does not mean, though, that there is not room for improvement with their first trip to the World Cup final in 60 years now within reach.

"We are lucky in decisive moments that could've gone the other way. We were lucky to not be 2-0 down with a big mistake in the deep buildup. We were lucky in the end," he said. "Even if it was the right decision, you always need a bit of luck that a referee overturns a goal and then decides that in the buildup of the goal, the ball was not in play. There was a foul so in these moments, we were lucky. I stand with that, not that overall and this is also nothing wrong. No one ever denied that you need luck to go in tournament football. You need moments where you are lucky. Otherwise, it's just not possible. I see no harm in admitting it and that's just the way I felt today."