Coming in, the story was

Haaland just knocked out Brazil. England are next.

Norway are having the best World Cup of their lives. They hadn't reached one since 1998, which means Erling Haaland — one of the best strikers on the planet — had never played in a World Cup until this summer. He scored twice on his debut against Iraq, then scored both goals to beat Brazil 2-1 in the Round of 16 and knock the five-time champions out. Norway had never reached a quarterfinal before. Now they're in one.

England carry the opposite kind of weight. They won the World Cup once, in 1966, and have spent the sixty years since finding new ways to break their fans' hearts, usually on penalties. Under German manager Thomas Tuchel, and with Harry Kane — who equalled England's World Cup scoring record with a brace against Croatia — they beat Mexico 3-2 in the last 16 to get here. Every tournament, the question is the same: is this finally the year.

There's a wrinkle only football fans usually clock. Several of Norway's best players and England's best players are clubmates. Haaland plays for Manchester City with England's Phil Foden and John Stones; Martin Ødegaard captains Arsenal, where England's Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice line up under him. Both sides know exactly how good the other is.

The two nations have never met at a World Cup. They have met in qualifying, and Norway won the two that stung most — including a 2-1 upset in Oslo in 1981 that produced the most famous line in football broadcasting, a Norwegian commentator shouting 'Maggie Thatcher, your boys took a hell of a beating!' at the British prime minister. England have spent forty-five years living that one down.

Golden Boot

Both sides have a scorer in the conversation: Haaland scored twice on his World Cup debut and twice more to sink Brazil, while Harry Kane equalled England's all-time World Cup scoring record with his brace against Croatia.

Form

• Norway reached their first-ever quarterfinal by beating Brazil 2-1, Haaland scoring both, after announcing themselves with a 4-1 win over Iraq (another Haaland brace) in the group stage.
• England beat their toughest group opponent, Croatia, 4-2, then got past Mexico 3-2 in the last 16.