Norway face England in first-ever World Cup quarter-final as Haaland and Kane duel in Miami

Norway's historic breakthrough

Norway are playing their first World Cup quarter-final after a 2-1 victory over Brazil in the previous round. That result surpassed the country's previous best performance, a round-of-16 exit against Italy in 1998, which itself followed a famous group-stage win over the same Brazilian opponents. The achievement has triggered celebrations across Norway, with tens of thousands of fans gathering outside the Royal Palace in Oslo to perform a rowing motion in time with a drumbeat. Crown Prince Haakon Magnus joined the crowd.

Vi skal vinne VM.

The national mood has shifted daily routines across an ordinarily well-organised country. The correspondent from sportowefakty.wp.pl, attempting to change a train reservation to watch the match with a crowd, was initially refused under a non-flexible fare. When he explained he needed to catch the national team's match, the agent refunded the old ticket and found a new connection, extracting a promise that he would join the rowing celebration afterwards.

The striking duel

Erling Haaland has scored seven goals at this tournament, one more than England's Harry Kane on six. Alongside France's Kylian Mbappé and Argentina's Lionel Messi, the two centre-forwards are the leading scorers and biggest stars of the competition. Norwegian newspaper VG ran a simple, confident front page ahead of the match.

Yes, tonight we play.

Aftenposten's Saturday cover listed eminent Norwegians (including Carlsen, Munch, and Amundsen) but highlighted only Haaland and goalkeeper Nyland in red.

England's path to the last eight

England reached the quarter-finals by defeating Mexico 3-2 in one of the most thrilling matches of the tournament. The Three Lions have appeared in seven World Cup quarter-finals, advancing to the semi-finals three times, most notably in 1966 when they won their only title. The winner of the Norway-England tie will face the victor of Argentina versus Switzerland in the semi-final, which kicks off at 03:00 CEST.

What comes next

France and Spain are already confirmed for the other semi-final. The match near Miami is the second quarter-final of the weekend, narrowing the field to the final four. Norwegian fans have already adopted the chant "Vi skal vinne VM" ("We will win the World Cup"), and the country is preparing for another night of mass celebration should the team advance.