England face Norway at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for a place in the World Cup 2026 semi-finals against either holders Argentina or Switzerland.
England are bidding to reach their second World Cup semi-final in the space of eight years, while Norway are in uncharted territory having never advanced to the last-eight in their history.
Here are the key World Cup 2026 stats to look out for tonight.
Norway vs England stats
The Tuchel effect
- Thomas Tuchel is bidding to extend his unbeaten start to life as England manager to 14 competitive matches.
England have yet to lose a single competitive game since Thomas Tuchel took charge in 2025. Since then, the German has overseen 12 wins and one draw from 13 competitive clashes, including a five game unbeaten run at the current World Cup.
Tuchel’s only defeats have come in friendlies to Japan and Senegal (W15 D2 L2).
Norway’s superb run
- Norway are looking to claim their 15th win from their last 16 competitive clashes.
Norway’s form is also ultra-impressive. The Vikings head into the quarter-final on the back of 14 wins from their last 15 competitive matches.
Their only defeat during that time came against France in the group stages, although the Scandinavian side did make 10 changes to their starting lineup, having already secured qualification for the knockout rounds.
READ – Norway analysis: How Erling Haaland and the Vikings could break English hearts
Kane chasing Ronaldo
- Harry Kane (14) needs one more goal to go level with Brazil’s Ronaldo on 15 World Cup goals.
Harry Kane is right in the mix for the Golden Boot on six goals, one behind Erling Haaland (7), and two behind joint-leaders Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi (8).
Kane’s goal in the 3-2 victory over Mexico propelled his overall World Cup tally to 14 goals, level with Germany legend Gerd Muller. Next in his sights is Brazilian Ronaldo on 15, while former record-holder Miroslav Klose is just ahead on 16 goals.
READ – Jude Bellingham analysis: Why England don’t have to rely on Harry Kane
Haaland’s hot streak
- Erling Haaland is bidding to score for the 15th consecutive game for Norway.
Erling Haaland is enjoying a stunning scoring streak for his country, having found the back of the net in each of his last 14 competitive games, belting in an eye-popping 27 goals during that time. Seven of those have come in just four matches at the 2026 World Cup, including a match-winning brace in the famous 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil.
Haaland, who was rested for the France defeat, is bidding to become the first European player since Germany’s Gerd Muller (1970) to score in each of his first five World Cup games.
Haaland’s tally of seven goals also means he’s just one goal behind Argentina’s Diego Maradona (8) in the all-time charts at the tournament.
READ – Erling Haaland vs Harry Kane analysis: Which striker comes out on top?
Pickford’s record-breaking night
- Jordan Pickford will make history against Norway by becoming England’s new all-time World Cup appearance maker on 18 caps.
When Jordan Pickford takes to the field on Saturday he will surpass fellow keeper Peter Shilton as the all-time England appearance maker in World Cup history. Pickford is currently level with Shilton on 17 caps, which he will increase to 18 this weekend.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane (16) – who leads the way for outfield players – will draw level with Shilton on 17.
England vs European foes
- England have lost five of their last six World Cup knockout matches against European opposition.
England have found European opposition difficult to overcome in the knockout stages of the World Cup, losing five of their last six encounters against countries from their continent. The most recent of those defeats came in the 2022 quarter-finals, when they were beaten 2-1 by France.
The only exception during that run came at the 2018 World Cup, when the Three Lions defeated Sweden 2-0 to book their place in the semi-finals. Thomas Tuchel’s side will now be hoping history repeats itself when they take on Sweden’s Nordic neighbours.
Norway vs European foes
- Norway have never beaten a European country at the World Cup.
Norway have also found life difficult against European countries at the World Cup, having failed to win any of their six meetings.
They’ve lost to Italy three times, drawn with the Republic of Ireland and Scotland, and lost to France earlier in this campaign.
On top of that, they haven’t beaten England in any competition since a 1993 win in qualification for the 1994 World Cup.
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