Miami [US], July 12 (ANI): Norway head coach Stale Solbakken fought back tears as he reflected on his team's memorable FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign after a 2-1 extra-time defeat to England in the quarter-finals brought an end to the nation's best run at the tournament in nearly three decades, reported Reuters.

Playing in their first World Cup since 1998, Norway exceeded expectations by topping their group before eliminating five-time champions Brazil in the Round of 16. Their dream run, however, ended in Miami as England came from behind to book a place in the semi-finals.

After a cagey opening, Norway struck first when Andreas Schjelderup's looping cross found its way into the net to stun England. The Three Lions responded just before half-time as Jude Bellingham latched onto Anthony Gordon's pass and finished calmly to restore parity.

The second half saw Norway threaten repeatedly, with Jordan Pickford producing key saves to deny Alexander Sorloth and Erling Haaland, while Torbjorn Heggem had a goal ruled out following a VAR review for a foul by Haaland in the build-up. Kristoffer Ajer also struck the crossbar before the contest went into extra time.

England eventually found the decisive breakthrough early in the additional period when Morgan Rogers' effort was spilled by Orjan Nyland into the path of Bellingham, who reacted quickest to score his second goal of the night. Despite Norway's late push, England held firm to seal a 2-1 victory and advance to the last four.

Reflecting on the defeat, Solbakken praised his players for competing with one of the world's best teams.

'We have been playing at the highest level, and the margins were not in our favour, but that's life, and now we need to breathe a bit,' Solbakken said, as quoted by Reuters.

'This is the way it is, this is at the top level, it can't get any higher than this, and we had a few problems in the beginning, the first 20 minutes, but I really applaud the boys,' the 58-year-old added.

Norway's impressive run sparked football fever back home, with fans turning out in huge numbers to support the team and supplies of the national team's home shirt reportedly selling out during the tournament.

'I hope that the summer of '26 has been okay for everybody and that we've done something good together. We have had fantastic support from all of Norway, and we lived up to the hype, and that's what I'm really proud of,' Solbakken said, as per Reuters.

'We said that we would step up when we got to the World Cup from the fantastic qualifiers, and we've managed to do so, and the boys did so. And we have been here together for 6-1/2 weeks. I don't see that people have been bored for a second, and that's good to know,' the head coach added.

Although there was controversy during the match, including a disallowed Norwegian goal and speculation surrounding England's winner, Solbakken refused to dwell on the officiating.

'There are many situations today. And, well, maybe we have been looking at many of them in the World Cup, so these things happen. We just want to wish England the best of luck,' he said.

While Norway's campaign ended in heartbreak, Solbakken's side leaves the tournament with renewed belief after reaching the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time. (ANI)