ไทย
English
中國人
Norway momentarily believed it had taken the lead against England in the World Cup quarterfinals through Torbjørn Heggem, but a rapid VAR check ruled the goal out in the 55th minute.
The Norwegians had grabbed a shock advantage in Miami courtesy of a brilliant strike from Andreas Schjelderup just after the half-hour mark, only for Jude Bellingham to controversially level things up on the stroke of halftime. Norway emerged from the break intent on reclaiming the lead, and believed they had done so through a well-executed set piece.
A slick sequence unfolded as Schjelderup delivered a ball from the corner flag that Erling Haaland nudged forward, picking out the right foot of Patrick Berg, who fired a first-time shot toward goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
The English stopper's save fell straight to Heggem, and the defender coolly prodded the ball into the net as he went to ground. Norway gathered to celebrate what appeared to be a 2–1 lead, but several players in red were already glancing back toward the referee, seemingly sensing the goal might be disallowed—and it was.
Why Heggem's Goal Didn't Count vs. England
Before the ball was put into play, Haaland was wrestling to get free from England midfielder—and future Manchester City teammate—Elliot Anderson. The striker pushed his marker in the chest, sending Anderson tumbling to the ground.
Haaland was then able to leap and flick the ball on to his teammate, directly contributing to the goal that followed just moments later.
In the past, such a foul would have gone unpunished since the ball was not yet in play, but one of the newly introduced rules for the 2026 World Cup permits VAR to step in when an attacking foul committed before play resumes directly leads to a goal.
Despite the foul occurring before the ball was live, it remains punishable under the updated regulations, particularly given that Haaland subsequently played a role in the build-up to the goal.
Enable functional cookies to see this feature.
Anderson certainly went down without much resistance, but Haaland clearly shoved the midfielder with both hands just before Schjelderup's delivery from the corner flag, ultimately denying Norway what would have been its second goal.
Since the ball was not in play at the time of the foul, the restart was awarded as a Norway corner rather than an England free kick.