Hey Jude! Bellingham emulates Maradona, nets brace to take England to semifinal

Jude Bellingham emulated the great Diego Maradona by scoring consecutive braces in the knockout stages of a FIFA World Cup, a unique feat that powered England to the semifinals with a 2-1 win over Norway.

Bellingham scored the winner in the 93rd minute by pouncing on a loose ball after a rare spill from Orjan Nyland. He had drawn England level in first-half injury time after Andreas Schjelderup’s spectacular opener for Norway in the 36th minute.

The quarterfinal at the Miami Stadium was billed as a battle between two elite marksmen, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, but the duo hardly got a sniff of the targets. Haaland, who began the match, one strike short of Leo Messi and Kylian Mbappe (eight goals each) in the Golden Boot race, was substituted off at the half-time of extra time.

Haaland, whose brace dumped out Brazil in the round of 16, could not prove to be the X-factor for Norway again. His best on the night was an unconvincing header from a Ryerson cross that Jordan Pickford collected without a fuss. The Manchester City striker was also guilty of committing a foul in the build-up to a second Norway goal in the 55th minute that Torbjorn Heggem turned in. VAR ruled out the goal.

Norway had taken a shock lead through Schjelderup, who had been preferred on the left wing in place of Antonio Nusa. He cracked the whip from an acute angle that appeared to swing away from Pickford’s goal, only to rattle the far post and be engulfed by a welcoming net.

England had not had much to show for despite dominating the match. But since going behind, they showed more purpose, and Bellingham took control of the proceedings by driving into the box before firing home from a narrow angle (45+2). It was England’s first real effort on target as skipper Harry Kane had shot one into the stands from a freekick and was flagged offside on another occasion. 

Norway’s game plan became more direct since Heggem’s goal was ruled out, perhaps giving them the realisation that the English were not untouchable. Martin Odegaard dragged the Englishmen out wide, freeing up his fellow midfielders, Patrick Berg and Sander Berge. The playmaker hardly put a foot wrong, though he was required to defend more often than he would have liked.

Kristoffer Ajer came close, but his glancing header only hit the post. The introduction of Nusa and Oscar Bobb infused a sense of urgency, pinning the English full-backs to their half and keeping the game even.

Thomas Tuchel could not influence the game with his substitutions, as his counterpart, Stale Solbakken, succeeded. Neither Reece James nor Eberechi Eze fit into the plot. To nullify the impact Bobb had in Norway's attack, Tuchel had to reinforce his left side with Djed Spence, and the Spurs defender caused a few problems to Norway's backline.

In the end England were lucky to have a midfielder worthy of the No 10 shirt entrusted to him. England will play either Argentina or Switzerland in the semifinal, as they await the World Cup, which has been away from their ‘home’ since 1966.