Erling Haaland was controversially substituted during extra time as England secured a 2-1 victory over Norway in the World Cup quarter-final in Miami. Norway head coach Stale Solbakken replaced the Manchester City striker with Jorgen Strand Larsen at half-time of extra time, with his side chasing an equaliser.
Match Summary
Andreas Schjelderup put Norway ahead in the 36th minute with what appeared to be a miss-hit cross. Jude Bellingham equalised for England shortly before half-time, but Norway felt the goal should have been ruled out after the ball seemed to hit one of Spidercam's cables in the build-up. In the second half, Torbjorn Heggem scored from a corner, but the goal was disallowed after VAR caught Haaland pushing Elliot Anderson in the box. The match went to extra time, and Bellingham capitalised on a mistake from Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to put England ahead in the 93rd minute. Norway could not find an equaliser, and England held on to reach the semi-finals.
Solbakken Explains Haaland Substitution
When asked about the decision to substitute Haaland, who has scored seven goals at the World Cup this summer, Solbakken said: 'It was not a tough decision to take him out because he was finished, maybe I should have done it 10 minutes before. But he obviously had a tremendous World Cup, we used his energy and power for game after game after game. I think that he also got a dead leg in the second half so that combined with fatigue. But he did everything he could, he was a little bit unlucky in a couple of situations, but scoring seven goals in five games for us. He had a fantastic World Cup.'
Haaland's Reaction
Speaking after Norway's World Cup exit, Haaland admitted he was 'completely done' after playing England in 32°C heat in Miami. 'It's been the best six weeks I've had in maybe my entire life,' Haaland said. 'It's completely surreal. It's hard to talk about it now, because I'm pretty down, but these 40-plus days have gone by so quickly. It's a memory for life. I hope people at home are happy with what we have done. We should be proud, but at the same time we should learn from matches like this. Quarter-finals in the World Cup are decided by small details, and we got that against us. England have experience from before, and they managed to tilt it in their favour. It was really special to play today with such high humidity. It was tough. I'm completely done, to be honest.'
What's Next for England
England will face either Argentina or Switzerland in the World Cup semi-final.
