Norway’s best ever World Cup campaign came to an end in Miami on Saturday as they went down fighting in the quarterfinal against England. The Vikings were slain by two Jude Bellingham goals, the latter arriving in extra time to secure a 2-1 triumph.
Despite the result, Norway for large parts of the game looked the more threatening of the two teams. Even though the Three Lions controlled possession, they struggled to create legitimate chances while the men in red kept hitting them on the counter.
Norway even took the lead in the 36th minute of the game through an Andreas Schjelderup screamer. The goal rattled the English and gave their opponents full control who started stringing together attacks at greater frequency.
All of it culminated in another golden chance for the Nordic giants to go 2-0 up and change the entire complexion of the match. However, some poor decision making not only made the move backfire but also allowed England to come roaring back into the encounter.
In the 44th minute, a lapse by England allowed Martin Odegaard to play Alexander Sorloth through the right wing with their rivals caught pressing. Sorloth had acres of land to run into with Erling Haaland accompanying him on his left. Between the duo and the goalkeeper was only a backtracking John Stones, struggling to keep afoot.
Sorloth sprinted ahead full speed and drew Stones in as he approached the edge of the box, freeing up Haaland. However, Sorloth’s brain froze in the high stakes moment, even with his number nine screaming for the pass across that would have left him one-on-one with Jordan Pickford.
Despite Haaland frantically pointing in front of him with both his hands, Sorloth delayed until English reinforcements arrived. Eventually, he timidly shot at goal that was blocked by Nico O’ Reilly. The cameras immediately cut to a fuming Haaland, unable to digest how his teammate had let slip a perfect opportunity.
However, beyond the tragedy of the situation, fans were quick to recognize the sheer meme potential of the moment. Haaland’s desperate flailing hands as he asked for the ball was pretty much a perfect throwback to the iconic LeBron James meme from the 2018 NBA finals.
Haaland recreated the LeBron meme 😭 pic.twitter.com/fsxibWUk9C
— ¹⁰ (@HoodiGarland) July 11, 2026
Back then, playing the Sorloth role was JR Smith.
In the final seconds of Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, the guard collected a rebound after a missed Cleveland Cavaliers free throw with the score tied.
But in a brain fade, Smith simply dribbled out the clock, leaving James screaming and pleading with extended hands for a move that should have been made.
The only difference between the 2 incidents is that Haaland made his desperate move before Sorloth made his blunder whereas it was too late for LeBron.
To make matters worse, England used the ensuing possession to seize back momentum. And within a couple of minutes, Bellingham weaved through the Norwegian defense to equalize on the brink of half-time.
As it turned out, the goal would force extra time where England emerged victorious, thus offering another reflection of the iconic LeBron meme. In that game too, Smith’s actions had led to overtime where the Warriors won comprehensively and set up a 4-0 series whitewash.
Haaland will undoubtedly need some time to recover from the agony with which his debut World Cup campaign has ended. Sorloth, meanwhile, would be better off going his separate way and not showing up in front of a Nordic crowd anytime soon.
England, on the other hand, are set to take on Argentina in a tantalizing semi-final at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday.
