England are into a World Cup semi-final. Again. And once again, it was Jude Bellingham who got them there.
In searing Miami heat, with the temperature reading 90 degrees Fahrenheit and a heat index warning of 108, England needed extra time to see off a Norway side appearing in their first ever World Cup quarter-final. It was not comfortable. It was not straightforward. But it delivered England a fourth World Cup semi-final appearance, and a mouth-watering date with Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Norway went ahead in the 36th minute through Andreas Schjelderup, a low cross-shot that gave England an uncomfortable half hour. Tuchel's side, already missing the suspended Jarell Quansah after his red card against Mexico, looked to be facing another slow start in the heat.
Then, in first-half stoppage time, Bellingham found the equaliser, slicing his way through Norway's defence with the kind of composure that has defined his tournament. 1-1 at the break, and England had the platform to build from.
The second half produced few clear chances in conditions that sapped the legs of both sides. There was late controversy when Norway thought they had taken the lead from a corner, Torbjørn Heggem bundling the ball home, only for VAR to intervene: replays showed Erling Haaland had pushed an England player to the ground in the build-up. Goal disallowed. Extra time.
England needed only three more minutes of the extra period to find the winner. Norway's goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland saved a long-range effort from Morgan Rogers, but could not hold it. Bellingham was first to react, slotting home the rebound in the 93rd minute for his second goal of the match and sixth of the tournament. He is now the first midfielder to score four or more goals in a single World Cup campaign for England.
Before kickoff, this match had been billed as a straight shootout between two of the world's great strikers, level on the tournament's Golden Boot charts. Haaland arrived with seven goals in five matches, having scored in every single game so far, a run matching Colombia's James Rodríguez in 2014 and, before that, Germany's Gerd Müller in 1970 as the last European to do it. Kane had six, level with Mbappé and Messi.
Asked to compare himself with Haaland before the game, Kane deflected diplomatically: "Impossible one for me to answer. I think we're completely different players almost... I like to maybe touch the ball a little bit more, but I can also play as maybe the out-and-out nine."
In the end, neither striker was the difference. Haaland went off injured in extra time, replaced by Jørgen Strand Larsen after appearing to take a knock, his remarkable run of scoring in every match ending at five. Kane, for once, did not need to be the hero. Bellingham was.
While England were battling through their own extra-time epic in Miami, Argentina were producing a classic of their own five hundred miles away in Kansas City.
The defending champions have made a habit of doing things the hard way at this tournament. They needed extra time to see off Cape Verde in the Round of 32. They needed a stunning comeback from 2-0 down against Egypt in the Round of 16. And against Switzerland, they found themselves held at 1-1 deep into extra time by ten men, after Breel Embolo's controversial dismissal for simulation.
Alexis Mac Allister headed Argentina in front early from a Messi corner, but Dan Ndoye levelled for Switzerland in the 67th minute and the Swiss, despite going down to ten men, refused to buckle. It took a moment of individual brilliance to finally break them: Julián Álvarez struck a rocket into the top corner from outside the box in the 112th minute, and Lautaro Martínez added a third in the 121st to finish it off.
One notable footnote: Messi did not score. His assist for Mac Allister's opener was his contribution for the night, ending a run of scoring in nine consecutive World Cup matches, a record in itself. He arrives in Atlanta on eight goals for the tournament, level with Mbappé, and 21 for his career, the most in World Cup history.
Wednesday 15 July, 8pm UK kickoff, Atlanta. A place in the World Cup final on the line.
This will be the first competitive meeting between the two nations in 24 years. For anyone who needs reminding what these fixtures can produce, the history writes itself: 1986 and the Hand of God, 1998 and Beckham's red card, 2002 and Owen's winner. Whatever happens on Wednesday, it will be added to that list.
There is a neat symmetry to how both sides arrived here. England and Argentina both needed extra time in their quarter-finals. Both have leaned on individual brilliance when it mattered most, Bellingham for England, Álvarez and Martínez for Argentina. And in a twist that reads as almost too fitting for FIFA's seeding system, this is genuinely the dream semi-final: entering the tournament, Argentina were ranked second in the world, England fourth. The other semi-final, Spain against France, pits the world's third and first-ranked sides. For the first time in World Cup history, the four semi-finalists are the four highest-ranked teams in the competition.
Messi's farewell tour. At 39, this is almost certainly Messi's last World Cup. Two matches, potentially, stand between him and a second consecutive title, which would cement his case as the greatest of all time beyond any argument. Argentina have not lost with him wearing the armband in a World Cup knockout match since 2018.
Bellingham's form. Four goals, the goal against Croatia that turned the group stage, the double against Mexico, and now the extra-time winner against Norway. He is playing the tournament of his life at 23, and Argentina's midfield will have to find an answer.
The fitness picture. Both sides played 120 minutes on Saturday. Both will be assessing bodies over the coming days. Quansah remains suspended for England; how Argentina's squad recovers from their own extra-time slog is just as pressing a question for Scaloni.
Emiliano Martínez. Argentina's goalkeeper has been the difference in more than one shootout and more than one desperate defensive moment this tournament. If this goes to penalties, as an alarming number of Argentina's knockout matches have threatened to, his reputation precedes him.
Whatever happens in Atlanta, England have already matched their best World Cup showing since 2018 and gone one better than the quarter-final exit of 2022. A win on Wednesday puts them in a first World Cup final since 1966. The whole country will be watching. So will we.
Our full reaction to the Norway thriller, the Argentina semi-final preview, and everything building towards Wednesday night. New episodes throughout the knockout rounds.
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