Was England The Better Team Or Was It Lucky In Its Win vs. Norway?

To the dismay of England’s biggest haters, it might be finally coming home. England took down Norway in extra time in the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, winning 2-1. But as the Three Lions didn’t need penalty kicks to advance, there were enough things that went down in Saturday’s match that could lead to England’s critics to say that it got lucky. That’s how former Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel certainly felt about England’s win. “England, they’ve gotten over the line. Were they great today? No, absolutely not. I think Norway were the better team,” Schmeichel said on FOX Sports’ “World Cup Now.” “But England have, as I keep saying, this star quality. They have the small margins that go their way. And you have to pull those margins onto your way when you’ve got incredibly good players.” Of course, former England star Peter Crouch found that statement to be a bit blasphemous. “No doubt England were the better side. No doubt,” Crouch said. “They defended and managed the game the way they needed to, created chances and towards the end, they brought in substitutions. … That’s how you win football matches, and England did that.” On the stat sheet, England had a clear edge. The Three Lions won the possession battle (52-48), expected goals (0.96-0.77), shots on target (8-4) and accurate pass percentage (91-85). However, England was on the right side of arguably the match’s two biggest calls. England’s first goal came after Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland’s goal kick might have hit a cable wire. If it did, there should’ve been a VAR check, but there wasn’t one. In the second half, Norway’s goal that would’ve given it a 2-1 lead was disallowed after it was determined Erling Haaland committed a foul before a corner kick following a VAR check. Schmeichel was mystified that a foul was called on Haaland’s push of England midfielder Elliot Anderson on that play. “If I get pushed over like that, I’d be embarrassed,” Schmeichel said. “It’s funny that the English used to hate that, but now you’re applauding it. “I’m probably just a Danish who just likes tough football.” Crouch, again, disagreed. “He’s put two hands on him, he’s pushed him over. I don’t know what more you want, it’s a definite foul,” Crouch said. “He’s got two hands on him and he’s pushing him over. What do you want him to do there? Stand there? You have to go down to get the foul. If you don’t, then you don’t get.” Still, Schmeichel thought that England embellished contact for much of Saturday’s match. “They’ve had massive success in getting fouls, I’ll tell you that,” Schmeichel said. “It’s funny that 20 years ago, all the English used to hate it and say that the foreigners were diving. “I feel like Norway has been very unlucky. There’s been some key decisions that have gone against them.” As Schmeichel continued to iterate that England was lucky, midfielder Jude Bellingham showed off his star ability in the Three Lions’ win. He scored both goals in the victory, scoring on his weak foot on an impressive goal before his determination helped him score the game-winning goal in extra time. With the two goals, Bellingham now has six goals in the tournament. He now only trails Lionel Messi (8), Kylian Mbappé (8) and Erling Haaland (7) in the Golden Boot race. “Look at the players on that list … they don’t give you much defensively. Bellingham, he gets around the pitch,” Crouch said of Bellingham’s standing in the Golden Boot race. “He does his work. He makes clearances. He dribbles with the ball. He can set goals up and he’s got six goals. You believe he’s gonna score every single game now. I believe he believes as well.” Bellingham has also scored four goals in the last two matches. He opened up the scoring in England’s impressive victory over Mexico in the round of 16, as the Three Lions are now onto the semifinals at the World Cup. “I’m so proud of the lads. Thankfully, I was able to go to into the camp and they’re such good lads,” Crouch said. “There’s a real togetherness. They’ve dragged themselves through what was really tough conditions today. They were amazing in the Azteca. They’ve performed when they’ve needed to. Their players have produced when they’ve needed to. It’s a semifinal for the England team. It’s incredible.” And as for Schmeichel, former England women’s national team star Alex Scott has an idea of how to handle the haters like him. “We need to get Kasper some drinks later,” Scott quipped.