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Alsharq Tribune- World News
England and Argentina set up a blockbuster World Cup semi-final showdown on Saturday after battling past Norway and Switzerland to book their passage to the last four.
In Miami, two goals from Jude Bellingham gave England a nervy 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway to send the Three Lions into the semi-finals for only the fourth time in history, AFP reported.
Defending champions Argentina later sealed their place in the last four after a nail-biting 3-1 win over 10-man Switzerland at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.
Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scored in extra time for Argentina, who had been on the ropes after a second-half equalizer from Switzerland's Dan Ndoye cancelled out Alexis Mac Allister's early opener for the holders.
The two results mean that England and Argentina will renew one of the World Cup's most iconic rivalries when they face each other in the semi-finals in Atlanta on Wednesday.
The winner of that game will take on the victor of France and Spain's semi-final in Texas on Tuesday in the final on July 19. Furious England manager Thomas Tuchel said his team would need to make a drastic improvement if they were to have any chance of progressing beyond the semi-finals.
In sweltering Florida heat and humidity, a shaky England fell behind on 36 minutes through Andreas Schjelderup's rasping shot from the left.
But England got a huge slice of luck in first-half stoppage time when Bellingham equalized after an attack that began when a goal kick from Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland appeared to hit an overhead camera cable.
Norway's players protested to no avail and the goal stood.
The Norwegians also had a goal controversially disallowed before Bellingham then bagged England's winner in extra-time. "We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today," Tuchel said afterwards. "The result is fantastic. The last four is amazing, but not happy with the performance... we were very lucky today."
