England wants to close a wound that has been open for 60 years and is already in the semifinals

BarcelonaA wound that has been open for 60 years. A wound that England wants to close in New York by winning the World Cup. For the moment, the team that proudly bears three lions on its crest is already in the semi-finals, only the fourth time they have achieved it so far. Two goals from Jude Bellingham have allowed the English to defeat a magnificent Norway in extra time in the quarter-finals in Miami, in a match where at times the English have played with fire (2-1). But the team trained by Thomas Tuchel knows how to compete and suffer. Things in life, a German coach excites the English, who will now face the winner of Argentina-Switzerland.

David Beckham, accompanied by his wife, seemed to preside over the match at Hard Rock Stadium. Beckham lives in Miami and the match was being played here, so the former England captain watched nervously, wondering if this generation would be able to do what he couldn't live to see: reach a World Cup final. In 2018, England already reached the semi-finals, the first since 1990, but they suffered a shock, surprisingly losing to small Croatia in extra time. Today, extra time has smiled on them, as Bellingham has taken advantage of a serious error by goalkeeper Nyland. The Real Madrid player is becoming the great leader on the pitch for a team where Kane, for once, has not scored. But he has worked his socks off.

England, as always, seemed to be playing at home. English fans travel to the ends of the earth, if necessary, pursuing a utopia: to see their team win the World Cup. Fewer and fewer people personally remember that 1966 Cup, when they won the trophy for the first and only time at Wembley, at home, with a bit of controversy. Since then, decades of disappointment. Every four years they sing ""It's coming home", confident that the inventors of football will be crowned. Every four years their hearts are broken, but for now, on this occasion, they are celebrating big. This is being done by people who have asked for money to pay for the trip and by Mick Jagger, present in the stands.

If for England conquering the World Cup is a kind of obligation, since they codified this game and have always had certain imperialist tendencies, for Norway to reach the quarter-finals was already an achievement. Haaland, in fact, was smiling before entering the pitch. In recent days, he has been explaining that for his country, having eliminated Brazil and reached the quarter-finals was already an achievement. But it's one thing to celebrate what you've done and another to refuse to win more. In the first few minutes, England were better, with an Anthony Gordon very active on the left wing. Kane was quite isolated by a Scandinavian defence that, at first, seemed content to draw.

But after the hydration break, Norway took a step forward. They pressed high and, from a play down the wing by Andreas Schjelderup, he created a beautiful goal with a shot from a tight angle that surprised Pickford. And they could have scored a second in an attack where Sorloth didn't want to pass the ball to a completely alone Haaland. It could have been 0-2. And in just a few minutes, the score was already 1-1. Moments that decide matches, as this England under Thomas Tuchel has character. They showed it in Mexico in the round of 16 and they showed it in the quarter-finals by equalizing before halftime thanks to a play where Gordon connected with Bellingham. And the Real Madrid player combined strength and talent to equalize. The team's number 10 acted as a leader with a goal that Norway protested, as the ball seemed to have touched one of the cables holding the spydercam from the ceiling. FIFA, however, said that the chip in the ball did not detect any contact. And the goal stood.

England wanted more. In fact, at halftime Tuchel made a double substitution, sending Rice and Madueke to the bench and bringing on Eze and Saka to revolutionize the wings. But the changes did not translate into clear superiority for an England side that would see the referee disallow a Heggem goal from a corner for a foul by Haaland just before. Norway was dominating and wanted more, so Solbakken brought on Bobb and Nusa, two electric players. England, slow, unrecognizable, was suffering. And Tuchel decided to take off the Barcelona player Gordon, who had gone from good to worse. But Norway missed a chance, hitting the post. And England recovered once extra time arrived.

They did so thanks to a shot where Nyland parried the ball to Bellingham's feet, who did not miss with his fourth goal in two games. The English also celebrated a penalty on Djed Spence, who brought necessary energy to the team. But it was not a penalty, as was seen after a VAR review. Norway saw the time running out. And to make matters worse, Haaland was exhausted, tired. And Solbakken took him off the field in the second half of extra time. The match was emotional as both teams were tired, with muscle problems and injuries. England suffered and ultimately prevailed, bringing an end to Norway's beautiful World Cup adventure. England's adventure continues.