Norway were denied a goal in the second half of their FIFA World Cup 2026 clash against England, after Torbjorn Heggem nodded home following a corner 10 minutes after the restart. A delivery from Norway captain Martin Odegaard deflected off a couple of bodies inside the box before reaching the far post, where Heggem side-footed the ball into the back of the net. While Norway thought they were in dreamland, VAR spoiled the party due to a foul in the build-up.
Replays showed that star striker Erling Haaland had pushed England’s Elliot Anderson to the ground before Odegaard had even taken the corner. As a result, the referee penalised Haaland after being advised by the VAR team to review the incident.
Norway were visibly frustrated with the call, with several players protesting the decision to the referee.
Did VAR have to bail out Clement Turpin?
Haaland pushes Anderson with both arms to shove him off
It’s a foul.
Despite the ball not being in play, the IFAB changed the rules to allow intervention in this type of action. pic.twitter.com/95ONLLtHDa
— Archivo VAR (@ArchivoVAR) July 11, 2026
Earlier, Andreas Schjelderup scored for Norway in the 36th minute before England’s Jude Bellingham equalized in stoppage time for his fifth goal of the tournament.
Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, fired a shot that caromed off the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession most of the first half.
Bellingham‘s equalizer from close range was his fifth goal of the tournament, eliciting a roar from that crowd that included Mick Jagger and former England great David Beckham.
It was a quiet first half for Haaland, who has seven goals in this tournament, behind the eight of France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honor of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa whose death was announced earlier Saturday.
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