Nico O’Reilly and Marc Guehi both started for England as they beat Norway 2-1 after extra time in Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final in Miami.
O’Reilly played at left-back before he was replaced by Djed Spence on 86 minutes; Guehi played the full 120 minutes at centre-back alongside former City legend John Stones.
Guehi’s main role centred around containing City teammate Erling Haaland, a matchup he had previewed earlier in the week as “going to be fun”.
The pairing was a familiar one from the Premier League, where Guehi had faced Haaland regularly while at Crystal Palace before his January move to City, conceding seven goals against him in those meetings.
Last night, Haaland’s clearest chance came shortly after the hour, a header saved by Jordan Pickford, who got enough on it to divert the ball around the post. Guehi and Stones could both only watch in the second half as Kristoffer Ajer’s header from a Norway set piece struck the crossbar.
Norway also had a goal disallowed midway through the second half. Torbjorn Heggem scored from a rebound at a corner, but the goal was ruled out by VAR after Haaland was found to have fouled City’s Elliot Anderson in the build-up.
Double-Jude
Norway had taken the lead through Andreas Schjelderup in the 35th minute. England equalised in first-half stoppage time through Jude Bellingham, who then scored the winning goal three minutes into extra time, converting a rebound after Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland saved a shot from substitute Morgan Rogers.
Guehi and Anderson both played the full 120 minutes; O’Reilly was substituted on 86 minutes as Thomas Tuchel freshened his options with the score level. Guehi had been a fitness doubt earlier in the week with a knock that England’s medical staff described as precautionary, and trained before being passed fit to start.
So, O’Reilly, Guehi, Anderson and goalkeeper James Trafford — an unused substitute against Norway — are all through to Wednesday’s semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta.
