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Jude Bellingham scored twice — including the winner three minutes into extra time — as England edged Norway 2-1 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, while Julián Álvarez’s magnificent 112th-minute curler and a late Lautaro Martínez tap-in sent Argentina past 10-man Switzerland 3-1 in Kansas City. The results sealed a last-four lineup that football has rarely seen: France vs Spain on Tuesday in Dallas, and England vs Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta — the first time FIFA’s top four ranked nations have all reached a World Cup semi-final in the same edition.
Miami Gardens / Kansas City, United States: The evening began with Erling Haaland’s summer finally and conclusively not arriving, and ended with Lionel Messi’s still very much alive. Saturday was a day of drama, controversy, red cards, disallowed goals, Spidercam conspiracies and one transcendent golazo — and when the dust settled, the final four were confirmed. The World Cup has its dream semi-final lineup.
England face Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday. France meet Spain in Dallas the night before. It is the first time in World Cup history that the four teams entering the semi-finals are also ranked first, second, third and fourth in the world by FIFA.
Schjelderup Stuns England, But Bellingham Has Other Ideas
Hard Rock Stadium shimmered in the Miami heat as two of world football’s most intriguing forces collided. Norway, galvanised by the knockdown of Brazil in the previous round and powered by the most feared striker on the planet, had every reason to believe. England, as is their tournament tradition, had every reason to worry.
The worry arrived in the 36th minute, and it arrived in unexpected fashion. Andreas Schjelderup — starting only his second match of the tournament after replacing an injury-threatened Antonio Nusa — gathered the ball on the left and sent a delivery drifting across Jordan Pickford’s goal. It crashed off the far post and over the line. A cross-cum-shot, and it had given Norway the lead.
England needed a moment of quality, and Bellingham provided it in first-half stoppage time. Collecting Anthony Gordon’s pass inside the area, he shifted onto his left foot and arrowed a finish into the far corner. Controversy immediately engulfed it — Norway protested that a goal kick in the build-up had struck an overhead Spidercam cable before falling to Elliot Anderson, which under the laws would have required a drop ball. FIFA released a swift statement confirming that the matchball’s electronic sensor detected no contact with the cable. The goal stood.
Harry Kane thought he had put England ahead seconds later, only for offside to intervene. Norway nearly grabbed their second when Torbjørn Heggem stabbed home after a corner, only for VAR to overturn it — Erling Haaland had fouled Anderson in the build-up. The game went to extra time at 1-1, Haaland having been kept without a goal for the first time in the tournament, his frustration palpable and his energy visibly draining.
READ MORE: Guehi doubt, Haaland lurking — England’s biggest test awaits in Miami
Ninety Seconds That Decided England’s Summer
Three minutes into the extra period, Bellingham ended Norway’s resistance. Substitute Morgan Rogers unleashed a long-range shot that goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland could only parry, and Bellingham — quickest to the rebound, as he has been all summer — poked the ball over the line. Six goals in six games at this World Cup. A brace for the second knockout game in succession, having also scored twice against Mexico.
Norway coach Ståle Solbakken had already taken the extraordinary decision to substitute Haaland at half-time in extra time — the seven-goal striker having barely touched the ball in the second half of normal time. Without their talisman, Norway’s threat evaporated. England held on.
The post-match atmosphere crackled. Thomas Tuchel, rarely a man to bathe in the moment, told ITV Sport: “The result is fantastic, we’re in the last four, it’s amazing — but I’m not happy with the performance. In every sense. Sloppy. A lot of technical mistakes. Not fast enough. We were lucky today.” His star man pushed back. When Tuchel’s comments were relayed to Bellingham, the reply was terse: “Yeah, well. Whatever. It’s difficult out there. Maybe he doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those conditions against Haaland, Odegaard, Nusa and Sorloth. You’re not going to win every game popping the ball and making a thousand passes. Sometimes you have to win dirty, and we’ve done that again tonight.” Captain Kane sought the middle ground: “He knows we can do better. In a way, that’s a good thing. If we’re in the semi-finals of a World Cup and we can still improve, we have to take that as a positive.”
Jordan Pickford also quietly made history, making his 18th World Cup appearance to become England’s most-capped goalkeeper in tournament history, surpassing Peter Shilton’s record of 17. Bellingham and Kane are now level on six goals each — the first time two England players have scored five or more goals in a single World Cup edition.
ALSO READ: Mbappe misses penalty, then scores screamer to send France into semis
Álvarez Breaks Swiss Hearts With a Strike for the Ages
If Miami was about grit and individual heroism, Kansas City was about patience, a landmark VAR decision, and one of the most beautiful goals of the tournament. Switzerland were playing their first World Cup quarter-final since 1954, and for long stretches they made Argentina look every bit as mortal as they have been through this knockout round.
Alexis Mac Allister gave Argentina the lead in the 10th minute, heading firmly into the net from Messi’s corner after the Swiss had twice left him unmarked. Argentina should have been cruising, but Emiliano Martínez had to produce a point-blank save to deny Breel Embolo racing clean through, and Lisandro Martínez produced a vital last-ditch block to keep the Swiss at bay before half-time.
The equaliser, when it came in the 67th minute, was deserved. Dan Ndoye combined with Ricardo Rodríguez before curling a finish from a tight angle underneath Emiliano Martínez. Switzerland were level, and suddenly the noise in Arrowhead Stadium carried an edge of Swiss belief.
It lasted five minutes. Under football’s relatively new “mistaken identity” VAR protocol — which allows the referee to reverse a yellow card shown to the wrong player — the incident was reviewed after Leandro Paredes appeared to foul Embolo. Replays showed Embolo had gone down before contact was made. Paredes’ yellow was overturned; Embolo, already booked, received his second yellow for simulation and was sent off. Switzerland, in the moment of their greatest equaliser, had been reduced to ten men.
Argentina battered their depleted opponents for the remainder of normal time, with Messi going agonisingly close in added time, curling just wide with his right boot. But the Swiss organised superbly, and the match went to extra time.
The Curler That Sealed a Dynasty
Argentina had looked like going to penalties when, in the 112th minute, Álvarez received the ball on the edge of the area. He took one touch, leaned back, and struck a curler with his right foot that bent away from Gregor Kobel and nestled into the bottom corner. The goal was not just decisive — it was a statement. Álvarez has been Argentina’s heartbeat throughout this tournament, and this was his finest moment in it.
Lautaro Martínez put the gloss on the scoreline in the 120th minute on the counter-attack, tapping into an empty net after Thiago Almada’s shot was kept out. Argentina had won 3-1. Their World Cup unbeaten run extended to 12 matches. Switzerland’s most successful campaign since 1954 was over.
“Obviously we would have preferred to win it earlier, but we know it’s not easy,” Álvarez said. “All the matches at the World Cup have been like that. With two more to go, we’re going to go all out for it.”
The Final Four — and the Stage Football Deserves
The World Cup semi-final draw that emerged from Saturday’s results would have seemed fantastical at the start of the tournament. France (FIFA No. 1) vs Spain (No. 3) in Dallas on Tuesday. England (No. 4) vs Argentina (No. 2) in Atlanta on Wednesday. It is the first time in World Cup history that the top four ranked teams have all reached the final four of the same tournament.
England and Argentina will meet in a World Cup knockout tie for the first time since 2002 — their first encounter with the full weight of their history behind it since the infamous 1998 edition. Messi, who has scored eight goals in this tournament tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé, will be playing what could be the last World Cup matches of his life. Bellingham, 23, has already written himself into the tournament’s lore with six goals and two match-winning braces in consecutive knockout games.
France and Spain, meanwhile, carry their own extraordinary billing — the 2018 and 2010 world champions going head-to-head in Dallas, with Mbappé and Lamine Yamal destined to illuminate AT&T Stadium.
The final is on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The road to it, as of this Saturday night, has never looked more compelling.
England 2–1 Norway (AET) | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens | 11 July 2026 Goals: Schjelderup 36′ (NOR); Bellingham 45+2′, 93′ (ENG) Player of the Match: Jude Bellingham (England) — 2 goals, 6 tournament goals
Argentina 3–1 Switzerland (AET) | Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City | 11 July 2026 Goals: Mac Allister 10′, Álvarez 112′, L. Martínez 120+1′ (ARG); Ndoye 67′ (SUI) Red card: Embolo (SUI, 72′ — second yellow, simulation) Player of the Match: Julián Álvarez (Argentina) — 1 goal, decisive extra-time strike
Semi-Final Schedule France vs Spain — Tuesday 14 July | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas | 3:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM BST England vs Argentina — Wednesday 15 July | Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta | 3:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM BST Third-place play-off — Saturday 18 July | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Final — Sunday 19 July | MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
