Jude Bellingham's double fires England into FIFA World Cup semis as Norway crumble

The footballing gods were not merely watching from their celestial luxury boxes, but actively meddling on the pitch. Deep in first-half stoppage time, a routine long clearance off the boot of Norway’s goalkeeper, Orjan Nyland, took a sudden mid-air detour. A little tug of the spidercam cable, maybe, and the ball went directly into the path of England’s Elliot Anderson, who promptly launched the sequence that brought Jude Bellingham’s equaliser.Perhaps, they were feeling nostalgic.Or, maybe, as the meme doing the rounds reveals, it was actually the spectral, mischievous Diego Maradona, whose ‘Hand of God’ reached down from the heavens to give the ball a gentle, course-changing tap. The cosmos, it seems, has a wicked sense of humour and an appetite for drama, and is determined to engineer a high-stakes collision between England and Argentina, even if it requires a little divine fixing. Or in a hushed tone, shall we say it’s FIFA, who decides to go any way they choose.Conspiracy theories abound. Quick, call in the Miami Vice detectives. But the eternal truth is history will remember the final score, and who goes throughThe Norwegian players and coach did not appreciate this divine intervention, of course. The referee could have disallowed the goal and ordered a drop ball, but VAR never came into the picture.History also remembers moments. It will remember how Jude Bellingham pounced on a rebound after Nyland could only parry Morgan Rogers’ long-range shot, to take England into a spicy semifinal encounter against Argentina.Georgia’s on our mind, as they move to the southern hospitality of Atlanta, away from the Miami heat of Messi’s new home. Here is a statistical quirk: Despite Messi marching towards the end of his career after 205 international appearances, with tears of joy and redemption, he has never played against England.And the Three Lions better brush their mane before plotting how to outlast Leo’s resilient streetfighters.England’s display against Norway was anything but fluid and inventive. If anything, it was Norway who looked more threatening while England appeared blunt in possession for long stretches. “Sloppy, not fast enough, We were lucky today,” German Thomas Tuchel, who has been tactically solid with his substitutions so far, was unhappy. “The football coach in me still thinks that we can and have to play better football.”They did, against Mexico, where they developed a serious altitude attitude, and chutzpah. In other matches, except for the first half against Croatia, they have looked frustratingly imprecise, and disjointed.Norway coach Stale Solbakken was spot on when he said the best of England didn’t play in the EPL. England lean heavily on their European ‘expats’. Real Madrid’s Bellingham and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane have delivered six goals apiece, accounting for 12 of England’s 13 tournament goals. The outlier is Marcus Rashford, who spent his most recent campaign on loan at Barcelona. For your information, five of the Norwegian starting 11 are from English clubs.Does the relentlessly high octane nature of the English game, with Cup replays and without a proper winter break, drain its protagonists more severely than other elite European leagues? That has been a debate for the ages. Man-mountain Erling Haaland, America’s newest sweetheart, could not manage his game through extra-time, succumbing to fatigue and a “dead leg”.The anticipated ‘Haaland vs Kane’ narrative never quite materialized. The Norwegian goal machine even turned out to be the culprit in Norway’s disallowed goal, penalized for the sort of shoving generally permitted in the domestic game, while Kane was strangely off-colour.But here comes the hotstepper. Once again, Bellingham seized the day. For his first disputed goal, in sublime seconds of movement and control, he dispatched a crisp, left-footed finish low into the far corner.Then came his signature celebration, chest expanded, arms spread wide, a picture of swagger. It was also a retort to Andreas Schjelderup who had needled him with the same posture to celebrate Norway’s opening goal.England’s No. 10 thoroughbred has shown remarkable versatility with his goal-scoring. In this World Cup, three have come from his right foot, two from his left, and one a powerful, acrobatic header. Capable of individual brilliance, bypassing defenders with his rampaging quality, he also possesses the opportunistic instincts of a traditional No. 9.Cue the winner, much to Norway’s despair.The underlying tension between coach and player has been well documented for some time. His shrugging off the coach’s criticisms on Saturday with his “whatever, it was a tough shift” statement may not be welcome in the dressing room.But Tuchel needs his rage, England needs his audacity. Remember it was his stoppagetime overhead heroics under Gareth Southgate that had paved England’s route to the Euro 2024 final. “Who else?” Bellingham had roared then, amid the frantic celebrations.The 23-year-old Brum boy has a long road ahead, and the gods can be fickle. But till then, hey Jude, do carry that weight upon your shoulders.