England needs to nullify threat of red-hot Erling Haaland

For a country that had not seen the World Cup for 28 years, Norway has arrived in the quarterfinals as if it has always belonged here. Brazil was the latest to discover how thin the margin is when Erling Haaland is on the pitch.

Two goals in the final 11 minutes in New Jersey — one a towering header, the other a finish of startling violence — carried Norway into the last-eight stage for the first time in its history. Haaland has seven goals from just 12 shots on target, with only six efforts off target all tournament.

Stale Solbakken’s side may not create as much as England, but the chances it does fashion tend to be clean, central and devastatingly suited to the most clinical finisher in the game. Norway’s route to Haaland usually runs through midfield, where Martin Odegaard remains the creative hinge and Sander Berge is the calm distributor — the two have exchanged a team-high 128 passes so far.

England will know that cutting that axis is as important as stopping Haaland. If Odegaard is allowed to turn or Berge is free to punch passes through the first line of pressure, Norway can turn defence into danger in seconds.

England, though, comes with its own conviction. Harry Kane has six goals, including two from the penalty spot, and Jude Bellingham’s four goals have made him the side’s second great source of menace. Reduced to 10 men after Jarell Quansah’s red card against Mexico, Thomas Tuchel’s side held firm through the final half-hour in a stadium and atmosphere that seemed designed to swallow them.

Quansah’s suspension and Marc Guehi’s hamstring issue leave Tuchel with questions at the back, particularly on the right side, where Norway will look to probe. Reece James may return, but England’s defensive certainty has been shaken at exactly the moment it faces the world’s hottest striker.

England may have the broader squad and deeper tournament memory, but Norway has Haaland, and right now, that can feel like a force large enough to bend the game.