Jude Bellingham delivered a clutch two-goal performance on Saturday, steering England through a tense extra-time escape as they edged Norway 2-1 at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium to punch their ticket to the World Cup semifinals.

Bellingham struck the decisive blow in the 93rd minute to settle a nerve-racking quarter-final conducted under sweltering heat. England advance to a Wednesday semifinal clash against the winner of the later Saturday quarterfinal between defending champions Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City.

Despite securing the result, England manager Thomas Tuchel was frank about his team's fortune, stating, "We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic. The last four is amazing, but not happy with the performance... we were very lucky today."

The high-stakes fixture had initially been hyped as a personal shootout between England talisman Harry Kane and Norway counterpart Erling Haaland, but that anticipated individual duel failed to materialize.

Instead, Norway drew first blood in the 36th minute when Andreas Schjelderup unloaded a rasping shot past the English defense.

Norway threatened to double their advantage in the 44th minute during a swift counter-attack where Alexander Sorloth and Haaland bore down on an isolated John Stones, though Sorloth inexplicably opted to shoot rather than pass to an unmarked Haaland, letting England off the hook.

England caught their first major break in the first minute of first-half stoppage time. A goal kick from Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland ricocheted off an overhead television camera cable—an occurrence that should have legally mandated a retaken goal kick.

Capitalizing on the continuation, England launched an attack that culminated in Bellingham surging into the penalty area to rifle home a low equalizer.

Fortune continued to favor the Three Lions after the break. Norway grabbed a temporary 2-1 lead in the 55th minute through Torbjorn Heggem, only for the strike to be controversially overturned following a VAR review for a perceived shove by Haaland on Elliot Anderson.

Operating under punishing conditions that hit a heat index of 108 Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius), an increasingly fatigued England eventually found the winner in the 93rd minute.

Nyland failed to secure a long-range effort from substitute Morgan Rogers, spilling the ball directly into the path of Bellingham, who ruthlessly buried the rebound. Haaland was ultimately substituted during extra-time as a tiring Norway chase for a late equalizer fell short.

The dramatic triumph sets the stage for potential high-drama ahead, keeping alive the prospect of a blockbuster semi-final or final narrative involving Argentina.

Defending champions Argentina face Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City later Saturday to continue their pursuit of consecutive World Cup titles.

While the South Americans coasted through group play, knockout struggles against debutants Cape Verde and Egypt have exposed minor vulnerabilities, leaving Lionel Messi—who celebrated his 39th birthday during the group stage—to continuously bail his side out of tight spots.

Switzerland enters the contest as a disciplined, dangerous unit orchestrated by veteran midfielder Granit Xhaka.

Looking ahead to the daunting task against the reigning champions, the 33-year-old Swiss captain issued a rallying cry to his nation's supporters: "Regarding the fans, keep dreaming. I am a person who always dreams, and dreams can come true. Sometimes you need to do something new. You really need to push your limits if you want to beat Argentina. And I'm convinced my team is ready."

Source: AFP