Norway vs. England: How long can Thomas Tuchel's Three Lions lean on Jude Bellingham after reaching World Cup semi-final?

England secured a place in the last four at World Cup 2026 in the early hours of Sunday morning, thanks to a narrow 2-1 win over Erling Haaland's Norway.

Stale Solbakken's side opened the scoring with a cross-cum-shot from Andreas Schjelderup, before Jude Bellingham levelled the quarter-final for the Three Lions in first-half stoppage time.

The Vikings then had a goal ruled out following a VAR review for a foul on Elliot Anderson, and with Haaland forced off through injury in extra time, Norway were unable to respond when England took the lead thanks to a mistake from goalkeeper Orjan Nyland.

Thomas Tuchel's men made it through to the semi-finals after a tense showdown, but their performance was once again less than convincing, and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to make it over the line against the likes of Argentina, France or Spain.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at the disparity between England's result and their lacklustre performance against Norway in their World Cup quarter-final.

England were lucky to beat Norway in World Cup 2026 quarter-final

Fans of the Three Lions will celebrate their triumph over Norway for the next few days, but the reality of the match was that they could - and should - have been at least two goals down before Bellingham struck back.

After Schjelderup's cross found its way off the post and into the back of Jordan Pickford's net, Atletico Madrid's Alexander Sorloth squandered a two-on-one chance by failing to test the England goalkeeper or pass to clinical hitman Haaland for an easy finish.

Had the Vikings bolstered their lead, Tuchel's side would have been forced to open up, leaving significant gaps in behind for Martin Odegaard and the Norwegian forward line to exploit.

Adding to the sense of fortune is the fact that Bologna's Torbjorn Lysaker Heggem saw an effort disallowed shortly before the hour mark.

Referee Clement Turpin saw no issue with the goal in real time, but he made Norway retake the corner it was scored from after a VAR review, keeping the contest 1-1.

England manager Tuchel was furious with the performance in his post-match interviews, lambasting his team's "Technical mistakes," while fans celebrated with the players in the background.

The boss knows that his team are yet to face any of the toughest sides at World Cup 2026 so far, and will be sure to drill that fact into his squad before a challenging semi-final next week.

England's run to World Cup semi-final has been easy - but they made it look difficult

The most convincing performance that England have produced so far came in their opening 4-2 win over Croatia on June 17, but even that showing raised questions about the team's defensive frailties.

Following that victory, the Three Lions struggled against Ghana's deep block - and could have lost had Pickford been sent off or a penalty been awarded against Ezri Konsa - before going on to require heroics from Bellingham and Harry Kane to overcome Panama 2-0.

Compounding the doubts about Tuchel's men was the round of 32 showdown against DR Congo, who led for the vast majority of the contest before a late brace from captain Kane saw England escape with a 2-1 win.

The round of 16 was a similar story for the European giants, who held on to progress past co-hosts Mexico by a single goal in a 3-2 triumph at Estadio Azteca, courtesy of a quickfire double from Bellingham and a penalty from Kane.

Norway are arguably the toughest opponent that England have come up against this summer, but they are far from the best that the tournament has to offer, and the Three Lions required a good dose of luck to make it through in extra time.

Given that the Tuchel's side have yet to produce a dominant performance in any of their six World Cup outings so far - despite not playing a nation from FIFA's top 10 - fans would be forgiven for feeling nervous about potentially coming up against world champions Argentina, third-ranked France or European champions Spain.

Can Thomas Tuchel can rely on Three Lions superstars Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane?

It would be fair to say that England's World Cup campaign has been fuelled by their superstars Bellingham and Kane, but leaning on the duo to make the difference in every match is not a sustainable strategy.

Highlighting the extent of the team's reliance, Marcus Rashford's 85th-minute sealer against Croatia is the only Three Lions goal at this summer's World Cup that was not scored by either Bellingham or Kane.

The Real Madrid midfielder has found the back of the net four times in the knockout stages so far, almost single-handedly beating Mexico thanks to his brace and remarkable clearance, before scoring both of England's goals against Norway.

Kane was the man that delivered against DR Congo, firing home a brace that saved his nation from the brink of elimination, and his second that day was a special strike that will live long in the memory.

However, the Bayern Munich striker was largely anonymous in the quarter-final, his only contribution coming when he was dispossessed in the buildup to Norway's opener.

It is also notable that the 32-year-old has failed to deliver in crucial moments in the past, most famously missing a penalty against France in the quarter-finals of World Cup 2022, though he also blasted his team's only chance of the goalless draw with Ghana over the bar, and saw his initial penalty saved by Croatia's Dominik Livakovic in the group stage of this tournament.

Bellingham has risen to the occasion at World Cup 2026, dragging England into the semi-finals, but it remains to be seen how long his heroics can be sustained considering his exertion against Mexico and Norway in particular, and the potential impact that could have on his physical playstyle.