England and Argentina complete 2026 World Cup semifinal lineup

Jude Bellingham carried England into the 2026 World Cup semifinals with two goals in a 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway in Miami Gardens, Florida, a finish that matched the pressure of the stage. Argentina followed with a 3-1 win over Switzerland in time added, and the semifinal bracket was set.

Norway’s opener through Andreas Schjelderup changed the quarterfinal immediately. In a knockout match, an early lead forces the favorite to do more than keep the ball moving; it demands patience, risk and a player who can decide a game before the clock becomes an enemy. England found that player in Bellingham, who turned the tie with the sort of direct finishing that elite tournaments often demand when space disappears and nerves take over.

His first goal steadied England after Schjelderup’s strike and kept the match from slipping into a chase that Norway could have managed on their terms. The second, in extra time, was the decisive moment, the kind of goal that punishes every missed chance and every minute spent waiting for control to return. Bellingham did not just equalize the score line; he changed the emotional balance of the night, giving England the last, decisive touch in a game that had already stretched into the most stressful phase of all.

Argentina’s 3-1 win over Switzerland supplied the other half of the semifinal picture, and it did so with the same ruthlessness that has marked the tournament’s sharpest teams. The result pushed Argentina through a quarterfinal round that ran from Thursday, July 9, through Saturday, July 11, across U.S. venues including Miami, Boston, Los Angeles and Kansas City. England and Argentina now sit in the last four of a World Cup that is the first to feature 48 teams and 104 matches.

The stakes now shift to Miami and New Jersey. The losers of the semifinal round will meet for third place on Saturday, July 18, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, while the final is scheduled for Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The bracket is complete, and the difference between advancing and going home has already been decided by a few moments of individual brilliance under maximum pressure.