England shut down Haaland, survive Tuchel’s fury to reach last four
Erling Haaland neutralised by England and subbed off late as Norway's World Cup run ends
MIAMI GARDENS, Florida: Erling Haaland's day ended earlier than many expected. About 15 minutes later, Norway's run in the World Cup ended as well.
The Vikings' biggest star didn't shine Saturday.
Haaland was a nonfactor for much of his team's quarterfinal against England and — perhaps because of the strain of dealing with hot and humid conditions in South Florida — was taken out with Norway's hopes hanging in the balance going into the final 15 minutes of extra time.
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The final score: England 2, Norway 1. Haaland was kept off the scoresheet for the first time in this World Cup; he had scored six times in his four appearances going into Saturday.
The Manchester City striker was, without question, one of the stars of the tournament — but England silenced him. And his former Borussia Dortmund teammate, Jude Bellingham, wound up stealing the show by scoring both goals.
Haaland had two shot attempts in the game, one on goal, and was virtually silenced after the first half.
England coach Tuchel 'not happy'
Meanwhile, England manager Thomas Tuchel said Saturday his team were "lucky" after squeezing past Norway 2-1 following extra-time to reach the World Cup semi-finals.
A furious Tuchel was in no mood to celebrate after Jude Bellingham's two goals secured another nervy come-from-behind victory for the Three Lions at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium.
“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today," Tuchel said in an on-field interview moments after his team's win.
"The result is fantastic. The last four is amazing, but I'm not happy with the performance.
"The commitment is there, but it made life very, very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played, sloppy, lots of safety, not fast enough, not enough. We were lucky today."
England will now face either Argentina or Switzerland in Atlanta on Wednesday as they attempt to reach their first World Cup final in 60 years.
Tuchel though was adamant that his team would need to make an improvement to progress further in the competition.
"We need to get better," Tuchel said. "Now it's celebration, and now it's taking it all in. We have three days."
