Forty years ago in Mexico, Diego Maradona Scored twice against England and twice against Belgium in consecutive World Cup knockout rounds. On Sunday in Miami, Jude Bellingham did the same thing.Bellingham became the first player since Maradona in 1986 to score two or more consecutive goals in the knockout stages of the same World Cup when he faced Mexico in the last 16 at the Estadio Azteca and Norway in Saturday’s quarter-finals at Hard Rock Stadium. England won 2-1 and reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1990.The comparison to Maradona is both extraordinary and apt. At the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Maradona scored twice against England in one of the most famous games of all time, including the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century, before scoring twice in the semi-final against Belgium. In the 40 years since, no player has achieved the same feat with consecutive knockouts in one tournament. Until Bellingham.Bellingham was the ultimate difference-maker against Norway, but it took him every bit of drama at the World Cup to deliver on his promise.Norway took the lead. In the 36th minute, Andreas Schjelderup fired a wonderful shot from the right post, hitting the England team that had possession of the ball. Then came one of the most controversial moments of the game. A Norwegian goal kick appeared to hit the aerial cable before being passed to Elliot Anderson, who quickly passed the ball to Bellingham for the equalizer just before half-time. According to the rules of the tournament, play should have been stopped for a dropped ball, but the infringement went unnoticed, sparking an outcry from the Norwegian bench.The game entered overtime. Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, Bellingham spoke. Morgan Rogers fired a vicious shot but Ojan Nylan failed to catch it cleanly and Bellingham grabbed the rebound to give England the lead. It was his sixth goal of the tournament, tied with teammate Harry Kane and just two goals behind Golden Boot leader Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.Jordan Pickford was equally heroic throughout, with a close-range save on Haaland in the first half helping England equalize. A tired Haaland was replaced by Jorgen Strand-Larsen in the second half of extra time, which was goalless for the first time in the entire tournament, marking the end of Norway’s biggest threat.England reached the World Cup semi-finals. They will face Argentina or Switzerland on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas. Leading the way is a young man from Stourbridge who is making the kind of history only a legend can make.
