England have an excellent team led by in-form Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, and will enter this match as overwhelming favorites to win the tournament. The 1966 champions overcame high ground and a red card to cruise to a 3-2 victory over co-host Mexico on Sunday night at Azteca Stadium. Norway also made history. They made a huge shock earlier on Sunday by defeating five-time champions Brazil, thanks to two superb goals from Erling Haaland, who is currently joint top scorer in the competition with seven goals.
The Scandinavian countries will meet in their first ever World Cup quarter-finals this Saturday. But they refuse to let the underdog label stop them from truly believing they can eliminate one of their contenders’ favorites.
Norwegian outlet Dagbladet published an article with the headline “Poor England”, giving full confidence to Haaland and his teammates to get the job done. They went on to warn that Tuchel “will be dreading the exams at the management school in Stolle Solbakken.”
They also noted Norway’s 2-1 win over England in 1981, and another publication NRK expressed similar confidence, writing: “England now awaits in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. We can beat anyone.”
VG (Veldens Gang) quoted former Norwegian national soccer player Karl-Erik Torp as saying that Norway has the potential to do their best and win the World Cup. Regarding the possibility of facing England and then Argentina in the semi-finals, Torp said, “The match against Cape Verde was a pretty bad Argentina team.
“I went to the England vs. Congo game in Atlanta, and that defense looks shaky. I’m not afraid of any of them. Remember, these teams are going to want to beat Norway. It’s just as difficult for them as it is for us. This Norwegian team is an incredibly good team.”
Meanwhile, TV 2 pundit Yaw Amankwah was thrilled by the win over Brazil, highlighting how England could be at a disadvantage after a grueling 10-man 101-minute encounter with Mexico.
“It would be great to stay,” he said. “I’m glad they endured over 100 minutes in thin air on their way to Mexico. I hope they’re tired and soft.”
In previous World Cups, England secured top spot in their group with a 4-2 win over Croatia, a disastrous 0-0 draw against Ghana and a 2-0 win against Panama. They recovered from the loss and defeated the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the round of 32, then defeated host Mexico 3-2, but their defensive weaknesses were repeatedly questioned throughout the tournament.
Norway, on the other hand, lost 4-1 to the 2018 champions, leaving them second in the group behind France, but they have rotated their squad significantly. They have defeated Iraq 4-1, Senegal 3-2, and in the last 32 they beat Ivory Coast 2-1, followed by Brazil.
