England booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals with a dramatic 2-1 extra-time win over Norway in Miami, but it was far from straightforward.
Stale Solbakken's side led through Andreas Schjelderup's early strike and will rue Alexander Sorloth's decision not to play the ball to Erling Haaland in a glorious two-on-one soon after.
Jude Bellingham dragged Thomas Tuchel's men level just before the break, and Norway saw a second goal chalked off by VAR when Haaland was penalised for pushing Elliot Anderson ahead of Torbjorn Heggem's effort. England survived a testing second half before Bellingham struck again in extra-time, pouncing on a mistake from goalkeeper Orjan Nyland to send the Three Lions through.
Norwegian Outlets Fume Over Camera Wire Controversy
VG, Norway’s biggest newspaper, were adamant Nyland's goal-kick was interfered with before Bellingham's equaliser, reporting that the Norwegian camp believes Orjan Nyland's shot from goal was stopped by a camera wire before England equalised, adding:
"It's absolutely sick that something like that can happen.”
NRK echoed the fury, insisting the officials should have intervened: “The Norwegian team was furious after England tied the game 1–1. Before the goal, Orjan hits the camera wire across the field, so the ball is shorter than it should have been. The referees should have looked into that. If it turns out that the ball hit the cable, we are in for the refereeing scandal of the ages.”
The Norwegian supporters' catchy choreography is as simple as it is viral.
Dagbladet Praise Solbakken's Side Despite Exit
Not every outlet dwelled on the controversy. Dagbladet instead focused on the mood back home, writing: "Snipp, snipp, snoot... last night the World Cup adventure was over for Norway. England won 2-1 in the quarter-finals. But rarely have Norwegian players been more cheerful after a loss. The World Cup ended up as a huge, Norwegian party."
Norway have produced a host of Premier League legends including Erling Haaland and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The paper noted that Solbakken's squad will be honoured at Oslo's Castle Square in the coming days, crediting the manager with uniting the nation "in a way no one else has done before."
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