England needed a Jude Bellingham double inside 98 seconds and then 36 minutes with ten men after Jarell Quansah's red card to become the first team in World Cup history to beat Mexico at the Estadio Azteca. It was a chaotic, high-altitude, high-stakes win that showed England can find different routes to victory even when the match refuses to go to plan.
Norway, appearing at their first World Cup since 1998, just did something they had never managed in their history: beat Brazil. Erling Haaland scored twice in the final 11 minutes — a header and a low drive — after Ørjan Nyland saved a Bruno Guimarães penalty and made a string of outstanding stops to keep the Seleção at bay. It's Norway's first-ever World Cup quarterfinal, and it arrives on the back of the single hottest individual scoring stretch of the tournament.
Thomas Tuchel's side scored via three different players against Mexico (Bellingham twice, Kane once) and have shown they can grind out a result even a man light for the better part of an hour. Bellingham operates as a genuine goal threat from midfield; Kane's penalty record and movement in the box remain elite; Saka provides width and end product that hasn't fully clicked yet this tournament — which is, in itself, a slightly ominous sign for Norway.
Ståle Solbakken's side sit in a well-organized mid-block and look to spring Haaland in behind on the counter or via crosses from deep. Martin Ødegaard links the midfield to the front line, and the double substitution at halftime against Brazil (Bobb and Schjelderup on) showed Solbakken's willingness to gamble tactically when the situation calls for it.
Harry Kane opens the scoring midway through the first half, arriving at the back post from a training-ground routine that Norway's back line simply doesn't track. Erling Haaland levels it before the break — a towering header from a Xhaka-esque delivery that no defender in this tournament has consistently dealt with — and it's 1-1 at the interval.
Jude Bellingham restores England's lead early in the second half, driving through midfield and finishing low into the corner. Haaland gets his second almost immediately after, a hammered finish from the edge of the box — his brace intact, exactly as advertised — to make it 2-2 with 25 minutes still to play.
With the game finely balanced, Bukayo Saka finally produces the moment England have been waiting for all tournament — cutting inside from the right and curling a finish into the far corner in the final 15 minutes. England hold on, 3-2, and reach the semifinal for the first time since 2018.
Two different match-winners from two different phases of play — exactly the kind of attacking depth that has carried England through a difficult knockout run so far.
The decisive contribution England have been waiting on all tournament, arriving at the moment it matters most.
A brace, because at this point that's simply what he does. Not quite enough against an England side with too many attacking outlets.
Still waiting for his signature moment of this tournament despite a run of otherwise strong performances. A quarterfinal against a Norway side that will be forced to commit numbers forward chasing the game is exactly the kind of match where Saka has historically produced his best work for both club and country.