Miami [US], July 12 (ANI): Norway head coach Stale Solbakken questioned the build-up to England's equaliser in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final defeat, saying he was convinced the ball had struck an overhead camera cable moments before Jude Bellingham scored, reported Reuters.

FIFA, however, maintained that ball sensor technology detected no contact with the wire.

England came from behind to defeat Norway 2-1 after extra time in Miami, with Bellingham scoring twice to overturn Andreas Schjelderup's opener and send the Three Lions into the semi-finals, where they will face defending champions Argentina.

The controversy centred on England's first goal in first-half stoppage time. Solbakken believed Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland's clearance struck one of the cables supporting the overhead camera system before dropping to an England player, who initiated the move that ended with Bellingham's equaliser.

'The ball fell straight down from the sky, so it changed its direction,' Solbakken said after the match, according to Reuters.

'It caused a misunderstanding among our players, and it was in a bad moment for us. But we can't do anything about that. I don't think we will play the game again. So that's how it is,' he said.

According to Solbakken, Norwegian players and coaching staff immediately raised the issue with match officials during the interval but were informed that the referee had not seen the incident and that there had been no intervention from VAR.

During the match, FIFA released a statement explaining that the 'Connected Ball' technology found no evidence of any contact before England's goal.

'Before England's goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the 'Connected Ball' showed no peak in the 'heartbeat of the ball' when in the air,' FIFA stated.

While acknowledging FIFA's explanation, Solbakken insisted his players remained convinced the ball had changed direction.

'If there's been no sound or there has been nothing there in the chip, what can I say against that?' he said.

'But the ball drops down straight from heaven. Everyone said, including Orjan, who is the goalie, and the guy who's going to receive the ball. So I think it's pretty clear that it did it. It was a strange thing,' he added.

Despite his frustration, the Norway coach said he did not want the incident to overshadow his team's historic World Cup campaign, which saw them reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1998 after eliminating Brazil in the Round of 16.

'I will not blame that,' he said. 'But everybody on the bench reacted spontaneously because the ball just fell down in front of them.'

'So I don't think there's any doubt that it touched something. But unfortunately, we have to live with this. So we will talk about the wire until we are all dead. I hope we can think about and talk about other things. That's my sincere hope. I hope that this will not be the story about this team. It shouldn't be,' he added.

England manager Thomas Tuchel said he had not noticed the incident during the match but expressed confidence in the technology being used at the tournament.

'I mean, there is a chip in the ball which can tell you if a hair touches it, as we know since the Croatia-Portugal game,' Tuchel said.

'So they should be able to tell you if it happened. I was not aware of it. I didn't see it,' he added.

England eventually sealed victory in extra time through Bellingham's second goal, ending Norway's impressive World Cup journey and booking a place in the last four. (ANI)