England beat Norway 2-1 in extra time to reach the World Cup 2026 quarterfinals on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Jude Bellingham scored twice, once just before halftime and again in extra time, overturning a Norway lead that Andreas Schjelderup had opened in the 36th minute. The game will be remembered for one moment in the 44th minute: Alexander Sorloth received a through ball from Martin Odegaard in a two-on-one with Erling Haaland standing unmarked, and chose to shoot himself. England defender John Stones blocked it, and Sorloth's decision became a national talking point after Norway fell short of their first-ever World Cup semifinal.

Momentum lost in a single touch

Sorloth explained his decision after the match. He said he took a touch, saw that Stones had already cut off the passing lane to Haaland, and waited for the defender to move rather than creating the space himself.

"I take a touch and look up, and then I see that Stones blocks that pass. Then I take another touch, and that is too bad. I wait for him to make a move instead of me making him make a move."

said Alexander Sorloth, Norway forward.

That moment turned out to be only half the story. The second half held another piece of drama that drew far less attention than the scrutiny on Sorloth: a second Norway goal that briefly stood before the referee ruled it out.

Why was Norway's second goal disallowed by VAR?

Referee Clement Turpin disallowed Torbjorn Heggem's second-half goal after a VAR, or video assistant referee, review, a video review system that helps officials revisit key decisions, showed Erling Haaland had fouled an England player just before the corner kick was taken. The goal had briefly put Norway back in front before it was overturned and the score returned level.

The call added a second thin margin to the ones that eliminated Norway, following the same pattern examined in a review of FIFA's offside line technology that has drawn attention throughout the tournament. While the Sorloth-Haaland two-on-one dominated the headlines, Haaland's foul before the corner went largely unremarked, even though it shaped the match just as decisively, all the way into extra time.

"We have been playing at the highest level, and the margins were not in our favour, but that's life, and now we need to breathe a bit."

said Stale Solbakken, Norway head coach.

Norway made history, still went home early

The World Cup 2026 quarterfinal was the first in Norway's history at the tournament. They got there by eliminating Brazil in the round of 16 on a Haaland brace, a result that made the Haaland-Sorloth partnership up front the team's main threat all tournament, with Odegaard directing play from midfield.

Against England in the quarterfinal, though, Haaland managed neither a goal nor a decisive assist, and he never touched the ball during the match's most crucial two-on-one moment. England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford also made a series of key saves to deny Sorloth and Haaland through the second half.

England face Argentina, Norway reassess a young squad

The win sends England into a semifinal against defending champions Argentina. Head coach Thomas Tuchel admitted his side fell short of its best despite getting the result it needed.

"We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic. We are in the last four, its amazing but not happy with the performance."

said Thomas Tuchel, England head coach.

For Norway, the federation and its fans now wait on Solbakken's assessment of the young squad ahead of the next qualifying cycle. Sorloth himself will likely still face media scrutiny once his club season with Atletico Madrid begins.