England has one team standing in its way of a 2026 World Cup semifinal berth, and that team, while talented as a group, features one standout 6-foot-4 speedy giant in contention for the Golden Boot.
After beating Mexico in a thriller last weekend, the Three Lions have advanced to three straight World Cup quarterfinals for the first time in almost 60 years (1962-1970).
Now, the only thing standing in their way of a semifinals appearance is Erling Haaland and Norway on Saturday in Miami.
Former England defender Warren Barton, who's now a FOX Sports World Cup match analyst, was impressed with how his team handled Mexico at Mexico City Stadium — also known as Estadio Azteca — against a home-field advantage.
But the Three Lions have to build on their round of 16 success to keep the dream of it coming home alive.
"It's a game that I'm really looking forward to," Barton told us recently.
"I'm not overly confident, but I'm pretty confident.
And it's not coming home yet, but it might be on the plane.
We don't know." Barton predicts a 2-0 victory for England, but he knows it won't be easy.
Here are his three keys to England taking down Norway in the World Cup quarterfinals.
This one is a given, considering Haaland accounts for seven of Norway's 11 World Cup goals this tournament.
"The biggest thing they have to do is keep Haaland quiet," Barton said.
"That is an obvious statement, but he only needs half a chance.
So as much as what England do with the ball — and [Martin] Ødegaard has done well — I just think we match up really, really well against him." Haaland is barely behind Argentina's Lionel Messi and France's Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race, as they both have eight goals apiece.
(However, Argentina has yet to play its quarterfinals game against Switzerland on Saturday, while France advanced to the semis with a win over Morocco.) From Barton's defensive perspective, he said if England players can squeeze Haaland up the field a bit and count on him not running behind them, they'll be in a strong position.
They will, however, have to ensure there's always a body on him too.
"You've got to press him up, and don't allow them to get the ball to him," Barton said.
"There will be times they have the ball; make them go direct.
Don't sit back and invite them to have possession and come forward, so he can get closer and closer to the goal.
I think we have to keep him high.
Have a high line and play a high line and make them play direct." Again, perhaps obvious, but still vital to success.
Kane and Bellingham lead England's World Cup goalscoring this tournament and combine to account for 10 of the team's 11 goals so far.
Kane has six and is not far off the Golden Boot frontrunners.
And while Norway will certainly look to stifle England's top duo, enabling their scoring chances and capitalizing on their chemistry will go a long way, Barton said.
"I think both of them have come to this tournament with a point to prove that they've been formidable," he explained.
"Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham — probably more than any combination in this tournament — complement each other really well.
… I just think them two have really led the way.
And when you have your strikers leading the way, it's so much easier for the other nine players behind to go and follow them, and to do that.
"I can't really think of any pairing — Ødegaard and Haaland, maybe — but just that they make the run switch over, they help each other out, they're unselfish, they respect each other.
So I just think they're really a standout combination." The Three Lions have another advantage over Norway, in Barton's mind, with significant depth from so many players competing at a high level.
He noted that Norway sometimes has the ability to lean on its bench, but it's not as effective as England's.
"You manage your substitutions and your minutes of players, and that's where England [has] maybe got a bigger advantage than Norway with the depth," Barton added.
"They do bring players in, there's not much of a drop-off.
Where you look at some nations, they make a lot of changes … for injuries, for suspension, for key players that don't have the quality to come in and play at that level — where France do, and I think England do as well." Beating Mexico in Mexico City is no easy feat.
But after the way England rallied to victory, it needs to maintain the "togetherness and spirit" of that win while leaning on built-up confidence.
"The way that they dug in really deep with Mexico [and] all the elements — not just the altitude, but the fans and the sending off [of Jarell Quansah], the referee, and everything that goes with that, with the game playing away from home — showed a lot of character," Barton said.
Knowing the players well certainly helps too, he added, particularly Manchester City teammates Haaland and Marc Guéhi.
"So I think they go into this game very, very confident," Barton added, "not only because of [the Mexico] result, but also, they match up really well against Norway."
Sources: Fox Sports
