It was regarded as one of the best results in England’s World Cup history, with the reward a meeting against Norway in the quarters. A victory against the Nordic nation will see England through to just their second World Cup semi-final since 1990.
If they’re to do just that, England will have to stop the imperious Erling Haaland from scoring, with the Manchester City ace having netted seven goals so far. Only Lionel Messi have scored more at this summer’s tournament, with Norway on a historic run of their own.
They last qualified for the World Cup in 1998, but never before had Norway reached the final eight of the competition. History beckons for one side on Saturday, however, there is another element at play heading into the weekend clash.
That’s because four England players are at risk of missing the semi-final - should they make it - due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Chief among them are midfield duo Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, who picked up a booking each in England’s clashes with Mexico and DR Congo, respectively.
As well as the Arsenal and Real Madrid stars, Nico O’Reilly would be forced to sit out the semi-final if he was booked vs Norway and England won. The starlet was unfortunate to be yellow-carded during the clash with Mexico, while City team-mate Marc Guehi was also booked at the Azteca.
All four players have featured heavily for England so far this summer, and if they were to be suspended for a prospective semi-final, it would present a significant headache for Thomas Tuchel. The good news for England is that should they progress into the semi-finals, the yellow card tallies would be wiped, meaning there isn’t a risk of an accumulated suspension for the final.
England’s most likely semi-final opponent, should they beat Norway, looks as if it will be Argentina. They face Switzerland in the quarter-final, with France vs Morocco and Spain vs Belgium the other two last-eight clashes on the opposite side of the bracket.