Thomas Tuchel said it felt “almost like we won a final” after Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane inspired England to a remarkable comeback victory in Mexico City, surviving a gruelling round of 16 tie that previous generations might well have crumbled under.
Mexico and their supporters threw everything at England. The atmosphere was intense. England played 36 minutes plus stoppage time down a man, following Jarell Quansah’s red card. Jordan Pickford had to produce save after save, and Dan Burn header after header, to get his team over the line.
Now into the final eight of the World Cup, England are 9/2 to get their hands on the trophy, behind only France (15/8), Spain (7/2) and Argentina (4/1).
Tuchel’s team might not have played their best football in every game at the tournament so far, but they have shown their spirit in getting this far.
The next test: Norway. So, who steps up?
Keys to the match
Harry Kane got England through a difficult round of 32 tie against DR Congo. The Bayern Munich striker has scored six goals in five games and is 8/1 to win the World Cup Golden Boot for the second time in his career.
With Kane leading the line, England have a chance in every match they play.
Kane’s relationship with Bellingham has been one of the key aspects of England’s run to the quarter-finals. The former set up the latter for England’s second goal against Mexico with Bellingham a threat with his box-crashing runs from deep. The Real Madrid midfielder is 12/5 to find the back of the net against Norway.
Norway, of course, have their own superstar striker in the form of Erling Haaland. He has one more goal than Kane at the 2026 World Cup, having scored both Norwegian goals in the historic 2-1 win over Brazil. Haaland is 6/1 to once again net another brace against England in Boston.
Ståle Solbakken will set up his team to play in quick transition. Alexander Sørloth will likely start on the right wing to draw attention away from Haaland, giving Ørjan Nyland a target to hit with long balls out from the back. From there, Norway will play for second balls and move quickly into the final third.
England’s approach at this World Cup has been difficult to pin down. The general consensus is that Tuchel’s team have struggled for open play creativity in many of their matches and yet England are currently ranked top for the most big chances created by any side at the tournament so far.
Bench options could be critical for both teams. Norway made good use of their squad depth in the last 16 win over Brazil with Oscar Bobb and Andreas Schjelderup impactful in the second half. Both wide players give Norway guile and could be productive in the quarter-final tie.
England chances improving
Opta’s supercomputer — a statistical prediction model that simulates sporting events thousands of times using team and player data to estimate the probability of different outcomes — gives England a 16.5 per cent chance of winning the World Cup.
That is a 5.3 per cent increase on the chance they were given before the start of the tournament.
This percentage has been somewhat boosted by England being on the side of the bracket that appears to be weaker.
France and Spain are on a collision course on the opposite side of the draw. England could be set for an encounter with Argentina should they get past Norway to make the semi-finals, but the defending champions have been less than convincing in their last two performances. There’s no guarantee they will beat Switzerland either.
Reece James’ injury coupled with Quansah’s suspension could make the right back position a weak link for Norway to target.
England celebrated a memorable win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on Sunday. (Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP via Getty Images)
There’s also a question over who should start on the left wing. Anthony Gordon produced his best performance of the World Cup so far against Mexico, but the Barcelona winger might not be afforded the same space by Norway.
At 5/6, England are favourites to get the better of Norway and make the semi-finals of the World Cup for only the fourth time in their history. England are 10/1 to win in extra time and 17/2 to win a penalty shootout.
Tournament experience could serve them well. While this is Norway’s first-ever World Cup quarter-final, England have reached this stage in the last four major tournaments they have played, winning three of them to go at least one step further. This muscle memory could count for something.
A blockbuster quarter-final awaits between a nation chasing World Cup glory for the first time since 1966, and another reaching new heights as tournament dark horses. England won’t have it easy, but their experience at the Azteca may have galvanised a group of players who surely now have the belief to go all the way.
