In the first 40 minutes of the Norway-England match, you would’ve thought we were on the brink of one of the greatest upsets in this World Cup. A 36th-minute goal by Norway’s Andreas Schjelderup interrupted what most thought would be a cake walk for England to the semifinal in Atlanta. But things changed. What started as a one-goal lead went to two, back to one, and a Jude Bellingham brace ended Norway’s dreams.
VAR and officiating overall have come into question (again) after two questionable calls derailed Norway’s rhythm and ultimately cost them the match. The first came in the first half of play when England was on the attack. A long ball sailed high and actually touched a stadium cable, altering its trajectory. The ball fell and eventually led to a Jude Bellingham goal. That goal drew the match level at 1-1.
“The minutes before halftime were a bit hard for us because we could’ve gone up two goals. It’s football, and mistakes are made by human beings,” said Norwegian manager Stale Solbakken. “I could sit here and cry (about the missed call), but I won’t. We have to accept it. It’s tough for the players, it’s tough for me.”
The second call was in the second half on a Norwegian corner kick. Erling Haaland pushed England defender Elliot Anderson to the ground just before the kick. The ball bounced around twice before Norway pounced on the free ball and put it past Jordan Pickford. After VAR review, it was declared a foul, and the corner kick was retaken. The level of physicality allowed before calling a foul is at the official’s discretion. It’s only because this type of offence has occurred multiple times without a call that has called officiating into question. One thing to remember is that this type of foul is subjective.
The more concerning of the two calls is the first one. It’s widely known that if a ball in play hits an official or an object not in play, the referee stops play and restarts it with a dropped ball. FIFA made a statement saying the ball never touched the camera cable.
The ball drops down straight from heaven. I think it’s pretty clear that it happened.“
Norway Manager, Stale Solbakken
With England’s goal allowed and Norway’s disallowed, the match went into extra time at 1-1, when it could’ve ended in Norway’s favor by potentially two goals. Instead, a 93rd-minute goal by Jude Bellingham in extra time saw the Norwegians playing on the back foot, chasing the match. And just like that, a team that was briefly up 2-0 ended up losing 2-1. Needless to say, Norwegian manager Stale Solbakken had a lot to say after the match.
“There’s been a lot of discussion about VAR referees and decisions that are changed during the knockout rounds. You also have pressure on the referees, that the situation may be decisive, and these impact the flow of play. But VAR during the knockout phases have had more influence than the referees do.”
“[On referee Clément Turpin’s response to the ball hitting the camera wire] He says that he didn’t see it himself and that he didn’t get any message that it actually happened. FIFA says that there was no touch and no signal from the chip in the ball, so he can’t do anything about it. But the ball fell straight down in front of the bench, so it did touch it.”
“We reacted immediately. It fell directly in front of us. The ball drops down straight from heaven, everyone saw it, including the Ørjan Nyland, who is the goalie, and the guy who received the ball. I think it’s pretty clear that it happened. Yeah, it was a strange thing.”
“Everyone reacted spontaneously. The ball just fell down.”
The tone on the pitch changed immediately when it looked like Erling Haaland, Norway’s most dangerous threat in attack, headed to the sideline. If Norway were to pose a threat in extra time, surely they would need their leading goalscorer.
“We should’ve taken him off 10 minutes earlier,” said Solbakken. He explained that while the decision may have looked controversial, it wasn’t a tough one to make since he was spent. “He was finished. He also got a dead leg in the second half, so that combined with the fatigue… But he did everything he could. He scored 7 goals in 5 games for us, so he’s been everything for us.”
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Solbakken. He mentioned how everyone felt down (at the time), but overall, he’s just proud. “I’m most proud of the fact that we’ve been here for six and a half weeks, and our team and staff are part of it.”
After the win, England awaits the winner of Saturday’s late match between Argentina and Switzerland. For now, England will soak up the win tonight and start preparing for next Wednesday’s semifinal in Atlanta.
-Jon Jones