In addition to the vacancy, England seeks to maintain a 33-year taboo against Norway
In search of a place in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup, England faces Norway this Saturday (11) trying to maintain a 33-year unbeaten run in the match.
The last time the Norwegians beat the English was on June 2, 1993, in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers. In Oslo, Øyvind Leonhardsen and Lars Bohinen scored the winning goals 2-0.
England's defeat, combined with another stumble against the Netherlands, resulted in the team finishing the campaign in third place in Group 2 and being left out of the World Cup held in the United States.
In addition to this result, Norway has only beaten England once in history, in a total of 12 games. It was in 1981, 2-1, during the 1982 World Cup Qualifiers.
On that occasion, however, the outcome was different: despite the triumph, the Norwegians finished at the bottom of Group 4 and did not qualify for the World Cup, while the English advanced after finishing in second place in the group.
With only three draws recorded in the history of the confrontation, England has a 58% success rate, the result of seven wins and two defeats in 12 matches. The superiority also appears in the goal difference: 28 scored and only seven conceded.
Most recent game
The most recent meeting between the teams took place in September 2014, in a friendly played at Wembley Stadium. On that occasion, Wayne Rooney scored the only goal in England's 1-0 victory.
Situation in the World Cup
England reached the quarter-finals after beating Mexico 3-2 at the Azteca Stadium. Jude Bellingham opened the scoring, while Harry Kane and Jarell Quansah completed the scoring.
The Norwegian team, in turn, advanced after eliminating Brazil 2-1 at MetLife Stadium. Erling Haaland scored both goals for the European team, while Neymar scored from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
The match between England and Norway will be played this Saturday (11), at 6pm (Brasília time), at the Miami Stadium, with live broadcast on CazéTV.
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Source: CNN