Norway v England: World Cup 2026 quarter final – live | 2026 World Cup
Important events
England made two changes to the team that started against Mexico. Ezri Konsa takes the difficult position at right back from the suspended Jarell Quansah, making room for John Stones in the center of defence. In attack, Noni Madueke starts on the right ahead of Bukayo Saka.
Norway made one change to their starting XI following the win over Brazil. Andreas Schjelderup, who set up both goals on Sunday, replaced Antonio Nusa, the only player in Norway’s squad who was booked.
Groups
Norway: Nyland, Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Wolfe, Odegaard, Berge, Berg, Sorloth, Haaland, Schjelderup.
Subs: Tangvik, Selvik, Thorsby, Ostigard, Larsen, Aursnes, Bjorkan, Pedersen, Thorstvedt, Aasgaard, Bobb, Hauge, Langas, Falchener, Nusa.
England: Pickford, Konsa, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rice, Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon, Kane.
Subs: Dean Henderson, Trafford, Rashford, Chalobah, Burn, Mainoo, Rogers, Watkins, Eze, Toney, James, Jordan Henderson, Saka, Spence.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
Pre-game mailbag: Taylor letters. “For you 100% about Graham Taylor. He seemed out of his depth at the time but I think history has shown that he did the best he could with what was given to him. In the three years he was in charge, he was gone for a good part of that time with Paul Gascoigne, he lost John Barnes in the ’94 qualifier Barnes losing Barnes to injury in the ’94 qualifier, Robson 90 for the Italia team, Bryanson 90, Bryanson 90 team retire. Terry Butcher – even on his way out – Gary Lineker, Chris Waddle etc. Any fans moaning about anything later tonight would do well to remember the England midfield featuring Andy Sinton, Carlton Palmer and RIP Graham” – Dave Estherby
“In 2012, I saw Graham Taylor at Oslo airport. As he went to his flight, a lot of England fans showed him great, genuine love, and he responded with kindness and generosity. A great man. His companion, Alan Green, kept disturbing everyone in the business class lounge by reading his contract line from Andrew Goaning-line”
Do you feel stressed before the games start? Good! What would be the point of any of this, if you just didn’t care? Just thank your lucky stars that you’re not sitting in the tunnel, waiting, thinking, waiting, maybe breathing heavily. Some players deal with this kind of thing better than others. Look!
… and while we’re on the subject of photo galleries, the act of slit-scanning – a technique with a long and different history in sports photography than you might imagine – is fun too.
You won’t need to be reminded that tonight’s game could go to extra time and penalties. So if it goes all the way, what on earth should Harry Kane do if he wins the toss? Mo Salah has the answer…
England have four players walking the ropes this evening. Jude Bellingham was booked for DR Congo, while Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly and Declan Rice were all cautioned for Mexico. You’ll get a yellow card from either of them tonight, and they’ll miss out on the semi-finals if England go through. Norway has only one yellow player in winger Antonio Nusa. (Yellow cards are canceled at the start of the tournament, and again after the quarters.)
First team news: Right back Konsa, Saka’s Madueke
Some early England team news from David Hytner.
double quotation mark Thomas Tuchel is ready to play Ezri Konsa at right back, while Reece James is not yet fully fit. John Stones is expected to join the defense team. On the right, Noni Madueke is being looked at in place of Bukayo Saka, who continues to struggle to be 100% fit.
Uefa have been throwing ersatz Super Bowls at the Champions League final, and now Fifa is stepping in. Ellie Goulding, England’s biggest fan, will perform the halftime show tonight. I’m not sure how long that is scheduled to take. Factor in the hydration breaks and we could be here for a long time. “It’s a precursor to what’s to come in the finals maybe,” said David Hytner, when he told me all this news. “Getting everyone ready for the idea.”
England have a really good goalscorer. Harry Kane saw the Three Lions through the group easily enough with two against Croatia and the clincher against Panama (and the less said about the other game the better) …
… and then it was scored, that goal against DR Congo and another against Azteca. It’s been a campaign of equals and explosions indeed, but England are champions of tournament football, and get the job done. Another deep run is on.
Norway’s progress has been – this is not recent news – all about Erling Haaland. Two goals against Iraq. Another goal against Senegal. A good rest while the B team got some minutes against France.
Later in the tournament, Haaland scored a late winner against Côte d’Ivoire, before knocking Norwegian bunnies Brazil out of the competition in swashbuckling style. If it’s Erling’s one, all bets are off.
So how did we all get there? To tell the story well, let’s go back to the beginning and familiarize ourselves with both groups. In fact, not much has changed since then … except that we would need to cry a little about golf at the end of the England page. Oh Harry.
More on terms … courtesy of David Hytner, our man lives at the coal face.
double quotation mark I told you what Scott, it’s hot inside the stadium. Me, Barney Ronay and Ed Aarons just set up the press box, sat in our seats for five minutes and we’re all dripping. Imagine playing this. The current temperature is 33C. The real feeling is 42C. According to Ed’s app, the humidity is 71pc.
Weather report. It’s currently 33C (91F) in Miami, and it’s not expected to get any cooler arrival time. If the humidity is included, it may feel about 41C (106F). Phew, what a scorcher, etc. Will that give Norway an advantage? They played Brazil in 31C sunshine in New Jersey last weekend; the worst weather England have faced so far has been a run of 25C under a cloud, also in New Jersey, against Panama. So it’s a tug of war between experience and fatigue levels: you decide, and the truth will come out. The conditions are not expected to exceed the Fifa guidelines, so there is no chance of the game being suspended … but there may be a weather delay if lightning strikes within eight miles of the Miami Stadium, in which case it is a 30-minute delay, the countdown clock is reduced and stopped every time there is more electrical work. But for now, fingers crossed for 5pm local time/10pm BST/7am AEST … and stay hydrated everyone.
Background
England won their first five games against Norway, between 1937 and 1980, going 24-2. No wonder, then, that commentator Bjørge Lillelien went the way he did when Norway finally got their first win against the Three Lions in September 1981. And if you haven’t read Lars Sivertsen’s entertaining account of that famous speech, fix that right away!
The two nations have been very close ever since. In the next six meetings, England won two to one and drew three, but it was Norway’s only victory that lingered in the memory: Oslo 1993, and a 2-0 World Cup qualifier that marked the beginning of the end for poor old Graham Taylor. The famous cry of “Don’t I love that!” and “Can we knock it off?!” he arrived early in that disastrous campaign against Poland, but Phil Neal stole the show in Oslo with his lyrebird impersonation, while Taylor himself delivered several off-screen “wonderful hells” who were masters of comic timing and people. He was a good man, Graham; time be kind.
It’s been a cheap deal over the years, so here’s another effin’ and jeffin’ freestyle tonight. All the ingredients are ripe for the taking: Erling Haaland and Harry Kane score goals to delight; Arsenal’s title-winning generals, Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard, will face each other in midfield; and it will be the original it’s hot in miami. Both teams have real hopes of going all the way in this tournament, so here’s the (no-doubt-no-doubt) classic. Good luck to you all, may the best team give one hell of a beating. Kick-off is at 5pm local time/10pm BST/7am AEST. It’s open! Can you hear me?!? It’s open!!!!!
