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England take on Norway in today’s first 2026 World Cup quarterfinal: Live updates
Erling Haaland leads Norway’s charge to shock England at the World Cup.
The Athletic Live Team
July 11, 2026 at 2:16 PM EDT
Norway vs England
Norway and England meet in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup in Miami today
Two of the tournament’s most prolific strikers — Erling Haaland and Harry Kane — go head-to-head with a spot in the final four against either Argentina or Switzerland on the line
Norway have seen off Ivory Coast and Brazil in the knockouts, while England defeated DR Congo and Mexico
- Kick-off: 5pm ET, 10pm BST
- Watch: Fox (U.S.), Fubo (try for free)
- Join our match discussion or email live@theathletic.com
Madueke to start, Konsa to play right-back
Noni Madueke will start for England against Norway in their World Cup quarter-final with Ezri Konsa set to play at right-back
Madueke returns to the team having lost his place to Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka in the last-16 victory over Mexico
Konsa has started each of England’s five games at centre-back but with Thomas Tuchel looking for a solution on the right side of his defence is set to switch at Hard Rock Stadium
Jarell Quansah, who started against Mexico, will serve the first of a two-match red-card suspension in tonight’s game in Miami
Reece James started the first two group-stage matches against Croatia and Ghana before picking up a hamstring issue. Quansah replaced him against Panama to close out Group L before suffering an ankle injury while Djed Spence started the round-of-32 win over DR Congo
Madueke has started three matches at this summer’s tournament with England’s victory in Mexico City the first game in which he didn’t feature in in some capacity
Should England win they will face either Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday
English paranoia vs Norwegian freedom
Norway have every reason to believe they can do this and they will arrive flying after dumping out Brazil, with Erling Haaland dragging them into their first World Cup quarter-final and a whole country now daring to dream
This fixture has the feel of a Premier League showdown
Haaland knows England’s defenders from years of domestic battles, Martin Odegaard will relish the midfield fight, and players such as Guehi, Konsa, Rice and Bellingham are all aware of their physicality
England have to manage more than Norway’s threat as they are walking a disciplinary tightrope. World Cup yellows are wiped after the group stage and again after the quarter-finals, but another booking here for anyone on one yellow card would mean a semi-final ban
Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Marc Guehi and Nico O’Reilly are all in that danger zone. Jarel Quansah is starting a two-game ban after his red card against Mexico
Norway are fired up because they have never been here before and England — for all their talent — still carry that old tournament fear of another painful exit
Norway’s attack creates chances galore
To be clear, I back England but Norway have proven to be fearsome. In any given game, even against five-time World Cup winners Brazil, they can have the best player on the pitch in Erling Haaland
Haaland, along with Martin Odegaard and Antonio Nusa, is part of an attack that creates chances galore, having scored 12 goals in five games
Being in their first World Cup quarter-final, they have nothing to lose and seem to be playing with joy and chemistry
Norway are not only comfortable in possession and technically proficient, as Odegaard showed towards the end of the Brazil game to Neymar’s frustration, but have physically imposing players in all areas of the pitch. Their goalkeeper, Orjan Nyland, has been playing out of his skin
The doubt I would have about this Norway team is their strength in depth, after their B team was soundly beaten 4-1 by France in their final group-stage match. This could bode well for England, who used substitutes to great effect against Mexico
Norway perform more as a collective unit
Norway do not have England’s individual star quality, a couple of players aside, but they can beat England as they are a much more cohesive team who all know their individual jobs well and focus on following the collective game plan
This is most obvious in midfield
England have a much higher profile and more expensive trio but Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson and Jude Bellingham have been more impressive as individuals than as a collective unit
None of Norway’s Patrick Berg, Sander Berge and Martin Odegaard have been involved in a €100million-plus transfer yet, and likely never will be. But the trio have all rowed (ahem) together really well, playing to each other’s strengths and covering their weaknesses for the good of the team
Then there’s Erling Haaland, who showed again against Brazil that his individual genius can make the difference against much better centre-backs than England will field
I’ve just got off the media bus at the stadium. It’s not sunny here, but it’s so humid I feel like I’m in a steam room
Will England cope with the pressure?
The psychology going into this game for England is far different from what they faced against Mexico. Thomas Tuchel’s side are not just coming up against the challenge of beating Erling Haaland and Co, they are having to cope with the huge pressure caused by the increase in expectations
This is akin to what happened after the opening group-game victory against Croatia. Remember how giddy everyone of an English persuasion got after that 4-2 victory? Suddenly, England were being talked about as world beaters, but they laboured in their next three matches against teams they were expected to beat in Ghana, Panama and DR Congo
Those three sides deliberately set themselves up to make themselves hard to score against, exposing a lack of creativity in the England squad. Norway will have surely taken note, with the difference being they have one of the best strikers in the world to punish Tuchel’s unconvincing defence
England went into the Mexico match inspired by having so many factors against them and with a lot of people dismissing their chances of winning the tournament. They played with a point to prove
Now they are the strong favourites for this tie, with people talking excitedly about the possible prospect of a semi-final against Lionel Messi’s Argentina
In contrast, Norway can go into the match with far less weight on their shoulders and can play with a freedom many underdogs tend to enjoy
England’s Premier League players and the long slog
Thomas Tuchel is known for wanting England to play like a Premier League club at this World Cup, but his most trusted players look exhausted from a long, draining 2025-26 season
Declan Rice is dealing with neural pain in his hamstring. Elliot Anderson fought tooth and nail to help keep Nottingham Forest up. Bukayo Saka is battling an Achilles issue that’s left him without his explosive burst
England have a great coach and positive momentum after their knockout victories over DR Congo and Mexico, but in both matches their front press looked incoherent and inconsistent. Both opponents found it easy to move the ball around England. Both sides created dangerous chances that Haaland would punish with his efficiency
England’s back four looks shaky. Ezri Konsa had a fine season with Aston Villa but has been a fraction slow to the danger at this tournament. For all of Marc Guehi’s skills, he’s not great in the air. John Stones’ match-sharpness remains an unknown quality
Man for man, England have a better team and greater strength in depth. But Norway have a 1.95 metre (6 foot 5) footballing cyborg up front. Someone who can turn a loose ball into a half-chance and a half-chance into a goal
Haaland has seven at this World Cup. If he can score his eighth early, England are in trouble
Why Norway will beat England
England are undoubtedly the favorites for this game. Erling Haaland’s brilliance is undeniable and his scoring record at this level has been phenomenal, but England possess more individual quality across the pitch and man-for-man, are the better side
Victory however, is far from assured
Our writers have been considering how and why Norway, who beat a star-studded Brazil in the round of 16, can win today
Let’s take a read through some of their thoughts, next
GO FURTHER
Why Norway can knock England out of World Cup – and it’s not only down to Haaland
The changing face of Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland is the hottest ticket in town
Whether it is because he sits just behind Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup goalscoring charts with seven, or for his human side when joking around with the child mascots in the tunnel before matches at the tournament, the Norway striker is emerging as the biggest draw of the summer
He has been invited to be a guest on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, a sure sign of his popularity in the United States, but the logistics of trying to help his country win the World Cup will probably rule that out
Could Norway actually win it? When Haaland appeared on the cover of Time magazine last year, he said his country had a 0.5 per cent chance and that felt about right. They are far from favourites now but as quarter-finalists, you cannot fully rule them out either
The fact Haaland was on that Time cover, one of a handful of footballers to ever achieve that crossover, shows his rising stock. People beyond football have been captivated by one of world sport’s most engaging characters
It has not always been like this though — far from it
Here’s how Haaland has transformed from a goalscoring robot who gave monosyllabic interviews, to one of the most intriguing and marketable personalities in world football
GO FURTHER
Erling Haaland came to England with a reputation for goals and grumpiness. This is how he has changed
How England can stop Haaland
- Shut down the supply
- Defend him aggressively
- Press smarter and better
- Use the bench
The primary task for any side facing Norway is the same: stop Erling Haaland. So far this World Cup, and in many internationals before it, teams have largely been unsuccessful
The Manchester City striker has scored in each of his past 14 competitive international appearances for Norway and has seven goals at this tournament, one fewer than Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race
Liam Tharme has been looking at the ways England can contain Haaland, who is experienced against their defenders and got the better of Premier League rival Gabriel in the previous round
GO FURTHER
How England can stop Erling Haaland and beat Norway
Hello from Miami. It was forecast to be extremely hot today, but so far it has been mainly cloudy and humid
The sun is just beginning to emerge and, if the temperature rises, the conditions will pose a real challenge for England, who have not yet played in the heat at this tournament
Norway’s top-flight experience
It’s been so long since Norway played at a World Cup that Stale Solbakken, their head coach, was part of the squad when they last appeared
Nearly 30 years have passed since that 1998 tournament, and now they boast a golden generation
Erling Haaland, Martin Odegaard, Alexander Sorloth, Julian Ryerson, Oscar Bobb, Sander Berge — this group is stacked with players at clubs across Europe’s top-five leagues
Is Tuchel likely to turn to Mainoo?
Kobbie Mainoo was the surprise solution to England’s midfield issues at Euro 2024, leapfrogging Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher for the central position next to Declan Rice in the knockout stages
But manager Thomas Tuchel has approached the 2026 World Cup differently, constructing a 26-man squad with the intention of maximising Harry Kane’s talents. Elliot Anderson has become the preferred option alongside Rice in central midfield. When the Arsenal man was rested for England’s final group game against Panama, Tuchel opted to play Bellingham in a deeper role, keeping Mainoo on the bench
The 21-year-old’s lack of game time is related to a clash between his skill set and Tuchel’s particular requirements for his midfield. While his ball-carrying through tight spaces has earned him praise from former England international Wayne Rooney and made him a crucial player for United, Mainoo cannot quite match Anderson’s physicality for England
If Mainoo is to feature at all in this World Cup, it will most likely come in short bursts for whatever remains of England’s campaign. He will still have a major role to play this summer as United’s pre-season tour begins in earnest and the club looks to sign midfielders to play alongside him for the upcoming season
His future remains bright, even if his footballing present sees him mostly on the bench
GO FURTHER
Could Kobbie Mainoo still have a role to play for England at this World Cup?
Bank Holiday for England World Cup win?
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has suggested he will grant England a Bank Holiday if the country wins the World Cup this summer
England’s men have not reached a World Cup final since 1966, when they defeated West Germany 4-2 on home soil in extra time. It remains the only time they have reached the final, and the sole occasion they have won a major men’s football tournament
When asked by reporters this week about the possibility of a Bank Holiday if England ended that drought, Starmer was quoted in multiple UK media outlets as saying:
💬 “I think I don’t want to jinx it, but ask me again if we get to the final.”
We will take that as a yes
You can read more on this one, right here
GO FURTHER
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggests Bank Holiday if England win World Cup
Trump’s praise for Kane
Harry Kane’s World Cup performances have caught the eye of U.S. President Donald Trump, who took to social media after England’s round-of-16 win against Mexico to write:
💬 “Harry Kane of England is a GREAT player!!!”
Speaking to reporters the next day, Trump reiterated that view and said that he “like(s) (Kane) a lot.”
What then emerged yesterday was that the pair played golf together last year after an invite from Trump — something Kane called “surreal”
Jack Pitt-Brooke has the full story here
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Tuchel unhappy with officiating
England manager Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with the officiating during the Mexico game, despite the fact England emerged triumphant
Tuchel believes any team could exit the World Cup as a result of poor refereeing and was unequivocal in his stance:
💬 “The referees can send any team out in any moment. It’s just not good enough. It’s just erratic. It’s just unreliable in matches. Now we have two fourth officials who just scream at you if you put one foot out of a coaching zone. It’s just not good enough.”
Jack Pitt-Brooke has the full story here
GO FURTHER
Thomas Tuchel criticises ‘erratic’ World Cup officiating: ‘The referees can send any team out in any moment’
England’s struggles against European opposition
England are favourites to win this one but seasoned supporters of the Three Lions will not be counting their chickens
England have been eliminated from the World Cup by European opposition the past four times they have made the knockout stage
Even in 2014 when Roy Hodgson’s team failed to get out of the group, the defeat to Italy in the opening game proved fatal
Could there be a sting in the tail?
This one feels as likely to have a late twist as an M. Night Shyamalan film
In every match Norway have played at this World Cup, there has been a goal in the 86th minute or later
This one could finish after midnight in the UK but it is probably best for English fans to stick with it until the final whistle has been blown
