Norway stand one win from an unprecedented semi-final, while England aim to return to the FIFA World Cup last four in an intriguing all-European quarter-final in Miami.
Quarter-final
Sunday, 12 July | Miami Stadium
Kick-off time
05:00 (GMT+8)
The match
Norway have already produced one of the stories of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ after reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. Stale Solbakken’s side finished as runners-up in Group I behind France before producing two milestone victories in their first World Cup knockout matches. Erling Haaland was Norway’s hero in both games, scoring a late winner against Ivory Coast in the Round of 32, before bagging a brace against five-time champions Brazil in the Round of 16 to send the Nordic nation further into uncharted territory. Haaland has now scored seven goals in four games and is in contention for the adidas Golden Boot alongside Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
England, meanwhile, topped Group L ahead of Croatia, Ghana and Panama, before being made to work hard for their place in the quarter-finals. The Three Lions battled back from a goal down to beat DR Congo 2-1 in the Round of 32 thanks to two late goals by Harry Kane, then showed a different kind of resolve against co-hosts Mexico; Jude Bellingham scored twice as Thomas Tuchel’s side held out for a 3-2 victory at Mexico City Stadium after playing most of the second half with ten men.
While Norway are appearing in their first quarter-final, England return to the last eight for the 11th time. The Three Lions have reached the semi-finals on only three previous occasions – lifting the trophy on home soil in 1966 and advancing again in 1990 and 2018 before losing those semi-finals to West Germany and Croatia respectively. Having tasted defeat against France at this stage four years ago, the Three Lions will be desperate to make amends.
There will be plenty of club connections across the pitch at Miami Stadium. Haaland could face Manchester City team-mates Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi, as well as former City colleague John Stones, while Norway captain Martin Odegaard takes on fellow Arsenal players Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka. In all, nine members of Norway’s 26-man squad ply their trade in the English Premier League.
Norway and England have never met at the World Cup before but have faced each other 12 times previously, including during qualifying for the 1982 and 1994 tournaments. The two nations’ most recent encounter came in a 2014 international friendly, which England won 1-0 at Wembley courtesy of Wayne Rooney’s penalty. Jordan Henderson and Stones both started for the Three Lions that day and remain part of the England set-up 12 years on, while Norway’s current No1 Orjan Nyland was between the posts for the visitors.
Norway possible starting XI
Nyland; Ryerson, Ajer, Heggem, Moller Wolfe; Berg, Berge, Odegaard; Sorloth, Haaland, Nusa
England possible starting XI
Pickford; Konsa, Stones, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rice, Anderson; Saka, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane
What they said…
“I remember that in the first 20 minutes against Iraq we couldn’t complete a pass, because of the expectations around our World Cup return after 28 years. Ever since that game we have been gaining confidence. This next game will be a very difficult one, but I think that, deep down, the players believe they can beat England, also knowing that they will need to do their very best.
“England may feel more pressure than us, but we also put pressure on our performance. Once the match starts, I don’t believe this will be a factor for any of the team. The players have been keeping their calm, doing well, and they only needed an extra day of rest after the game with Brazil. That’s fine because we had five days to prepare for this match. Every game of this World Cup has been the most important, the greatest for Norway, especially in the knockout stages. So, this would be the third of this kind.
“In terms of generations, this is spread a little bit for us, because we have players that older than 30, also some players that are teenagers and there are players reaching there are reaching their apex like Haaland, so it’s more a product of hard work from the federation and our clubs on daily basis.” Stale Solbakken, Norway coach
Miami Stadium
Miami Stadium serves as home to the Miami Dolphins, Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, Miami Open tennis tournament, University of Miami, Orange Blossom Classic and Orange Bowl college football games, Jazz in the Gardens and other concerts and festivals. The stadium played host to eight fixtures during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, including the opening showdown between Al Ahly FC and Inter Miami CF. At the FIFA World Cup 2026, Miami hosted three matches of Cabo Verde’s fairy tale run, witnessing two creditable draws with Spain and Uruguay in Group H before a barnstorming Round of 32 defeat to Argentina. The two other group games in Miami were Portugal’s 0-0 draw with Colombia and Brazil’s 3-0 victory over Scotland, while it will also host the Bronze Final.