​Norway’s manager Stale Solbakken believes the overhead cables played a part in England’s equaliser, describing the ball’s descent as coming “straight from heaven” even though FIFA’s ball sensor reported no contact. Jude Bellingham’s brace carried England to a 2-1 win after extra time in a sweltering, humid Miami, with Andreas Schjelderup’s cross-shot giving the Norwegians the lead. Bellingham later levelled the score with a smart, well-timed finish in stoppage-time of the first half, as England pounced on a quick transition after Orjan Nyland’s goal kick was intercepted.
The ball seemed to strike one of the overhead cables, but FIFA stated that the ball’s sensor recorded no “heartbeat” when in the air, offering no evidence that the ball touched the wire or altered its trajectory. FIFA’s official statement read: “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, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball.”
At the start of the post-match press conference, Solbakken was asked whether the camera wire deserved an assist for the leveller. He replied: “Yeah, it probably will. That was unlucky for us. The ball fell straight down from the sky, so it changed its direction. It became 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.”
Solbakken added that he did not see the ball strike the wire himself, though many on the Norwegian bench believed it did, even if FIFA did not record any contact. “I can’t say anything about that because of FIFA,” he said. “If there’s no sound or there has been no reading in the chip, what can I say against that? But the ball drops down straight from heaven, as everyone, including Orjan, the goalkeeper, and the man who would receive the ball, would tell you.” He also noted he saw another interpretation in that moment and wondered what had happened, insisting that the incident was not the whole story of the game. “I think it’s pretty clear that it did and it was a strange thing.”
The outcome marked a painful end to a summer that Norway will treasure: they qualified for their first World Cup since 1998 and advanced further in a major tournament than ever before. When pressed about the likelihood that Norwegians will talk about the wire incident for years, Solbakken urged a broader perspective. “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.”