Thomas Tuchel, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Morgan Rogers, John Stones react after England beat Norway in the 2026 World Cup quarter final.
After England started the better, the momentum shifted mid-way through the first half, with Norway going ahead when Andreas Schjelderup’s lucky cross went in off the post on 36 minutes. England unhappy with a tackle on Harry Kane during the build up.
England seemed more fired up after that, and got one back just before half time (45+2 mins) when Bellingham met Anthony Gordon’s cross, with a tap in.
Kane thought he had given England the lead four minutes into stoppage time, the flag went up for offside.
Norway complained about England’s equaliser, claiming Orjan Nyland’s goal kick had hit an overhead camera cable before the ball fell to Elliot Anderson in the build-up, but FIFA said they hadn’t be alerted by the ball’s sensor, insisting it didn’t register any contact.
Norway’s Torbjorn Heggem then had a goal disallowed earlier in the second half, Elliot Anderson was shoved by Erling Haaland. Didn’t take the referee long to rule that one out after looking at the monitor.
On the 76th minute, Kristoffer Ajer’s header rattled the bar.
It set up for a tense, nervy finish, as the second half was coming to an end Djed Spence put pressure on goalkeeper Orjan Nyland and nearly punished him for holding the ball too long, Spence getting a foot to the ball.
Three minutes into extra time and Bellingham put England ahead, from the rebound after Morgan Rogers unleashed a powerful effort, which wasn’t held perfectly by Nyland.
Spence thought he had won a penalty, only for VAR to go against it. Hiss left went across Oscar Bobb’s before going down.
England held on for the win, sealing a semi final meeting with Argentina next after they beat Switzerland hours later.
England boss Thomas Tuchel said to ITV: “We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic, we’re in the last four. It’s amazing. I’m not happy with the performance.
“In every sense. The commitment is there but we made life very, very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played. Sloppy, tactical mistakes, not fast enough. Not repetitive enough. We were lucky enough.”
Asked was it down to mentality, Tuchel replied: “Mentality? This is pure mentality now. How can you talk about mentality now? This is pure mentality.”
“It’s not a mentality problem. You can bottle it up and sell it. Why are you talking about mentality?
“It’s the quality of our game [that’s the problem]. It’s about quality, we need to play better.
“We will get better, we need to get better. Now it’s celebrations. Now it’s taking it all in. We need everything to make a better performance.”
On Bellingham: “Enough said, he does it every match. World class.”
Jude Bellingham to ITV when asked about Tuchel’s comments on England’s performance: “Yeah, well. Whatever. Whatever.
“It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift. All the players are putting in a tough shift. So my thoughts and appreciation go to the players who put in a good shift out there.”
Jude Bellingham said, as per englandfootball.com:
“Character, perseverance – even when things weren’t working, we found a way to win the game again,” he said. “Whether it’s in 90 or 120 (minutes), we will give everything we have got.
“You saw that there, whoever was ready to come on, came on and smashed it. I’m so proud of this team again, to be in a World Cup semi-final.
“It is a victory for everyone. The whole country is behind us. All the players and staff who are here, credit to them all. A huge shift by everyone.”
On Elliot Anderson, Dan Burn and Djed Spence’s debut World Cup campaigns:
“Warriors, they didn’t look like they were new to it.
“All three of them and whoever else came on were top level.
“It’s one thing to have quality, which all the lads in this group do, but you don’t know how much heart and mentality they have until you’re in a situation like that.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those kind of conditions”
Jude Bellingham has his say on England’s win over Norway, after Thomas Tuchel believed his side were ‘lucky in decisive moments’ of their quarter-final win 👇 pic.twitter.com/9vwuUxncWJ
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) July 12, 2026
Harry Kane said, as per englandfootball.com:
“[It was a] Tough game, hot, really brutal, almost more so than Mexico with the heat and humidity but again, we found a way” he revealed.
“It wasn’t our prettiest performance, we know that. I said before in the press conference that there’s another level we can reach. I still feel like we didn’t reach it as a team.
“But we have match-winners – Jude [Bellingham] was the game-changer again today but the boys at the back, Pickers [Jordan Pickford], everyone put in an amazing shift, this man next to me [Elliot Anderson] as well.
“Everyone involved put the hard work in. The most important element of this team is togetherness and we showed that again today.”
On Tuchel, Kane said: “He just said there in the changing room, massive congratulations, we should enjoy it and celebrate, but he knows we can do better.
“In a way, that’s a good thing. If we are in the semi-finals of a World Cup and knowing we can still improve and find another level, we have to take that as a positive.
“We can be better with the ball in possession. We have a couple of big games ahead.”
On the importance of the whole squad: “We spoke six weeks ago when we met up about needing everyone.
“Sometimes, throughout a tournament, it doesn’t always feel like that, guys who don’t always get starting places can be disappointed.
“Of course they have that right, but whenever people come onto the pitch they give their all for the shirt and the badge.
“You saw that again today, the guys who came on made a massive difference. Djed [Spence] in particular was outstanding, the energy he brought, the one-v-one duels, it really helped change the game for us and that is what we need.
“It’s a quick turnaround, we play again on Wednesday and the games are going to be even more difficult. We are going to need everyone this week as much as possible.”
Social media users had their say while Tuchel, Bellingham, Kane, Rogers, Stones react after England beat Norway in World Cup…
@Rory_Talks_Ball: Nothing in the Bellingham/Tuchel comments to be honest Both have elite mindsets, I’m sure they’ll talk it out. English Interviewers trying to stoke division though… knobheads
@markgoldbridge: Love that Tuchel interview. Said we were poor, said we were lucky, but praised the mentality to stay in the fight. The absolute honesty we need because we can’t do that on Wednesday if we want to be in the final
@MikeyBCFC: Bellingham is a legend. No doubt. Tough game and we weren’t at our best. But cup football just being there is all that matters. Thought Anderson was outstanding. FairPlay to Spence. Credit to Burns and Stones. Just that experience matters. Semi final is a great achievement.
@Calumbrofficial: Well It was an alright performance could’ve done a lil better but Jude be doing what he does best and got the win and into the Semis, whether we beat the team in the Semis, idk but got the job done and that’s all that matters. 👍 #NORENG
@harvey_walters_: Tuchel is visibly incredibly pissed off in his interview. That’s the difference between him and Southgate. Tuchel is a born winner. Even if we come up short this time, we need to keep him.
@CottrellStephen: They’ve done it! Congratulations to the #Threelions on another memorable World Cup victory and a place in the semi-finals. Moments like these are the reward for years of dedication, teamwork and perseverance. Commiserations to Norway, worthy opponents who contributed to a terrific contest. England march on.
@MrDtAFC: England will have to control their emotions on Wednesday. Argentina will try every trick in the book to get someone sent off. I thought England were lucky last night, but individuals like Bellingham won it. I thought the subs were excellent. Spence did really well. Rogers was excellent. Saka really grew into the game and by the end was creating some big chances. I’m not sure about James in midfield. I’d rather him stay at right back. Rice should never have started, it was so evident he had not recovered from a sickness bug. Madueke was terrible. There’s a player in there, but how do you get that out consistently? I have no idea. Kane stank up the place with his performance. It would have been nice to see Watkins at some point. From an Arsenal perspective. I thought Odegaard was excellent. There were times that England couldn’t get near him. You put a fully fit Rice and Bruno G next to him, and he performs like that, then we should be excited about what’s coming.
