Alf-Inge Haaland has taken aim at FIFA officials after Norway were denied by some controversial refereeing calls as England edged Norway 2-1 in their World Cup quarter-final.

The former defender’s frustration boiled over on a night when the margins, and the big calls, all seemed to fall in England’s favour. At the heart of it was Jude Bellingham, whose brace carried Thomas Tuchel‘s side through to a second semi-final in three tournaments.

Additionally, for Norway, having had a goal ruled out by VAR, they had another axe to grind following England’s equaliser. Many argued it should never have stood with replays appearing to show the ball striking a camera cable in the build-up — contact that would ordinarily bring play to a halt.

It was a tense, finely balanced affair between two well-matched sides, settled less by a flood of chances than by a handful of pivotal moments — but one that has left a bad taste in Haaland’s mouth. Astonishingly, the match produced just one yellow card, yet it hinged on two major VAR decisions and an offside goal chalked off from Harry Kane.

Haaland’s Dad Calls Out Referee

For Norway, the sense of grievance was real: their team effort matched England for long stretches, but they came away with nothing despite their spirited effort. Following the game, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano’s account posted after Bellingham’s record-breaking display, signing off with ‘Hey Jude’.

That grievance found its sharpest expression from Alfie Haaland himself, who responded to Romano’s tribute to Bellingham — “Brace against Norway. Six goals in six World Cup games. Always there when England needed the most. Hey, Jude.” — with a pointed, five-word jab of his own:

In reality, it was a frustrating evening for Haaland and Norway, whilst England themselves weren’t overly impressive, with Tuchel later commending the mentality of his players but criticising their overall quality.

Haaland’s Lack of Impact in England Win

England’s Jude Bellingham celebrates scoring vs Norway via Reuters/Sam Navarro

Haaland was surprisingly quiet during the quarter-final tie, managing just one shot on target and completing just five passes out of the 13 he attempted, and his most notable moment was his foul on Elliot Anderson that denied a chance for his team to take the lead in the second half.

Norway originally took the lead through Benfica star Andreas Schjelderup in the first half, with a powerful cross/shot soaring past Jordan Pickford in a moment that sparked the game into life.

Bellingham hit back on the stroke of halftime, powering his way into the penalty area before firing a brilliant left-footed strike past Orjan Nyland to draw Thomas Tuchel‘s side level. Haaland’s foul on Anderson curtailed Torbjorn Heggem’s celebrations 10 minutes after halftime, when it looked as though Norway had gone 2-1 up, as the two sides then headed into extra time.

England struck quickly through Bellingham, who was on hand to tap in Nyland’s parry, ensuring he is the first player to score back-to-back braces in the knockout stage since Diego Maradona, and the youngest ever to do so after Pele.

Jude Bellingham dismissed Thomas Tuchel‘s post-match criticisms of England‘s performance despite their 2-1 victory over Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals.

England reached a second semi-final in three tournaments, as Bellingham’s brace was enough to edge out a spirited Norway side, who originally took the lead.

Far from England’s best performance, it drew a passionate speech of constructive criticism from Tuchel, who hailed his side’s mentality but questioned their quality.

Bellingham hit back, calling the match “tough” as the Three Lions now await the winner of the final quarter-final tie between Argentina and Switzerland.

Tuchel’s Passionate Criticism

Paul Childs via Reuters

“We made life very difficult for ourselves,” Tuchel began. “The result is fantastic, it’s amazing, but we are not happy with the performance.” When pushed for more details, the German simply responded with, ​​​​​​​“In every sense. Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough: we were lucky today.”

When asked if it was a mentality issue, Tuchel quickly hit back at ITV’s Gabriel Clarke, passionately hailing his players, stating that mentality is what drove the players to success:

Speaking on Bellingham, who netted another brace after his efforts against Mexico, he called the Real Madrid star “world-class” and claimed he produces “every single match”.

​​​​​​​Bellingham’s Bold Response

When the midfielder was told his manager was not happy with the team’s performance, Bellingham’s reply was rather eye-catching. He bluntly said:

“It’s difficult out there. A tough shift,” he added. “Character, perseverance, when things weren’t working we found a way to win a game. We gave it everything we’ve got. So proud of this team.”

Before Bellingham’s brace, a first-half strike from Andreas Schjelderup sparked the game into life, as the Benfica attacker fired an effort that toed the line between cross and shot. Regardless, it shocked England into life, who quickly hit back on the edge of halftime.

Bellingham received a smart ball from Anthony Gordon before carrying it into the box and firing low and hard past Ørjan Nyland to bring his side level. However, England had to be saved by VAR in the early knockings of the second half as Torbjorn Heggem’s goal was ruled out following a foul by Erling Haaland on Elliot Anderson.

The 23-year-old midfielder grabbed his second to settle the tie early into extra-time, netting his sixth in this tournament format, which is more than Zinedine Zidane managed across his World Cup career.

England‘s progression to the World Cup semi-finals were clouded by a dramatic controversy on Saturday night in Miami, as Jude Bellingham’s goal against Norway arrived only after the ball appeared to strike a camera cable in the build-up.

It was an incident VAR failed to flag, as replays of the passage of play showed the ball making contact with a broadcast camera cable before England began the move that ended with Bellingham bringing Thomas Tuchel‘s side level.

Under the laws of the game, contact with external equipment that materially aids an attacking side should result in a stoppage, and the goal *should* have been ruled off.

Instead, the officials waved play on, the goal stood, and a moment that should have handed the advantage back to Norway swung England’s way firmly, as they eventually ran out 2–1 winners.

What Went Wrong With the VAR Call?

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

The role of the video assistant referee is precisely for this kind of incident — an interference in the phase of play that leads directly to a goal.

On this occasion, it didn’t. Whether the cable contact went unseen in the VAR booth or was judged not to have affected the passage of play, no review followed, and no correction was made. For a tournament already marred by officiating rows, it was another unwelcome addition.

Argentina’s progress has involved disputed refereeing calls, and now England find themselves at the centre of their own. Norway supporters have every reason to feel aggrieved, as a goal that ought to have been ruled out was allowed to stand at a pivotal moment.

No explanation from the officials will fully settle the sense of a decision that got away from them, especially at that time in the game and bad officiating has written itself into the story of the 2026 World Cup once again.

FIFA Issue Statement

As per Ben Jacobs, FIFA said there was “no peak on the graph” to suggest the ball hit a camera cable in the build-up to England’s goal.’ He also noted that: “Norway fuming, and their position backed up by replays. Under the rules, play should have been stopped”

In a further statement, FIFA added: Before England’s goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the Connected Ball showed no peak in the ‘heartbeat of the ball’ when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball.

How the Match Played Out

England’s Jude Bellingham celebrates scoring vs Norway via Reuters/Sam Navarro

Two of the competition’s great entertainers met for the fifth time at a major tournament. Whilst England began comfortably up to the first hydration break, Andreas Schjelderup fired Norway into the lead with a shot-slash-cross that will be debated, but it didn’t take long for Bellingham, and England, to hit back.

It was Anthony Gordon‘s smart pass that found him on the edge of the box and his expert touch and dribble was topped off by a fine left-foot strike to Thomas Tuchel’s side level. Kane did have the ball in the back of the net shortly after, but it was ruled out for offside as the two sides went in level.

Norway made the early running in the second half, and they thought Torbjorn Heggem had given them the lead only to be scuppered by a VAR check that noticed a push by Erling Haaland on his new Manchester City teammate Elliot Anderson. Both teams battled to full-time with the score level, with both sides experiencing extra-time for the first time this summer.

Bellingham’s extraordinary form continued after Morgan Rogers’ shot forced Ørjan Nyland to parry into the six-yard box and the midfielder was the first to react. That was the Real Madrid star’s sixth World Cup goal, as he surpassed the great Zinedine Zidane‘s entire career output.

England thought they had a chance to kill the game from the penalty spot but Djed Spence’s collision with Oscar Bobb was deemed to be fair challenge after a VAR review. It was originally given as a foul as more drama ensued. Yet, England held on for a place in the semi-finals, facing either the winner of Argentina and Switzerland.