We still have eight players vying for the chance to lift the World Cup next week, after England came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals.
We had five representatives in action during the clash in Miami, with Martin Odegaard proudly leading his nation into their first-ever last-eight clash in the competition, while Declan Rice and Noni Madueke lined up for the Three Lions.
Norway took the lead in the 36th minute when Odegaard fed the ball to Andreas Schjelderup whose cross floated into the net, handing our skipper his fourth assist of the tournament - only France’s Michael Olise has more.
However, Jude Bellingham equalised just before half-time with a solo effort, and at the break Rice was withdrawn having struggled with illness in the build-up. Bukayo Saka took Noni Madueke’s place on the right wing, and Ebere Eze was added to the mix as well.
After Norway had a goal disallowed and hit the bar, the game went to extra time, when Bellingham pounced on a rebound to score the winner for his side and set up a semi-final with Argentina.
The winner of that will meet William Saliba’s France or Spain in the final, who progressed to the last four thanks to late Mikel Merino winners against Portugal in the round of 16, and Belgium in the semi-finals.
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That means despite Odegaard and Leandro Trossard’s tournaments coming to a close at the last-eight stage, we still have over half of the 15 Gunners originally selected for the finals still in with a chance of winning the trophy, and are guaranteed some representation in the showpiece in New Jersey on Sunday, July 19 as either Saliba or our trio of Merino, Martin Zubimendi and David Raya will make it through from their semi-final.
All eight players meanwhile will remain with their nations until next weekend, as the losers of two semi-finals will meet in the third-place play-off the day before the final.
For Odegaard, though, his side’s superb run to the latter stages was something he could take comfort in, despite their heartbreaking exit.
Speaking post-match, he said: "It's very tough. I feel we were very close. We did everything we could, and maybe we sat back defensively in the first half, but England didn't create much and we took the lead. We conceded two easy goals, and we didn't get much help from the referee. The small details didn't go our way, and we lacked some luck."
"It was a fantastic tournament and a fairytale for us. We can be proud of ourselves. The whole world is talking about Norway now, and reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup is a huge achievement. Now that we've tasted this level, we need to keep building for the future."
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