Kane: We Gave Our All, Bellingham Deserves Praise

England captain Harry Kane hailed the fighting performance of his teammates during their 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway, securing a place in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup.

Kane stated in an interview with the BBC: "It was a tremendous effort. I felt the match was tougher than facing Mexico. The heat and humidity affected us significantly, and we had to fight until the end, especially in the second half and extra time. Determination and resolve made the difference today."

He added: "The match was fairly even in terms of possession and chances, but when you have a player like Jude Bellingham who can change the game as he did again today, that’s a very important factor. The heart and desire of the players is what got us through to the semi-finals."

Kane elaborated on his teammate Bellingham, who scored both of England's goals, saying: "I always talk about moments of champions. It seems like either Jude or I are the ones scoring goals at the moment, but everyone was fantastic today. Bellingham deserves all the praise; he scored two brilliant goals in the most important match and led us to the semi-finals."

He continued: "To win any tournament and go far in any competition, you need decisive players. You need players who can fight and find solutions in tough moments, and Jude did that for us today."

Regarding his disallowed goal, he said: "I thought it was a clear offside. It was frustrating at that moment. I also thought I deserved a penalty that could have easily been given. But in the end, it doesn’t matter. We made it to the semi-finals, and I’m completely satisfied with that."

On reaching the semi-finals, he said: "Our message before today’s match was to come out strong. I’ve seen our training sessions and our potential, especially in the final third. We haven’t shown our best yet. But we reached the World Cup semi-finals without playing at our best."

He concluded: "If we can get back to our level in Wednesday’s match, that could be the difference between winning and losing in this tournament. We will enjoy this moment, recover, and then start preparing for another match in a few days."