England face Norway in the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals on Saturday evening, with Thomas Tuchel's side looking to build on a hard-fought 3-2 win over Mexico despite playing with 10 men. Norway, meanwhile, stunned five-time champions Brazil in the last round, setting up a clash that has drawn predictions from seven prominent pundits.
Bryan Robson: England 2-1
Former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson backs England to win 2-1, acknowledging Norway's quality. 'When I think of the teams who can win the World Cup this year, I think it's France and Spain and Argentina because they've got Lionel Messi. England are going to be up there among the favourites but Norway will be a difficult game because they're a strong, well-organised team who can sit behind the ball, defend really well and then pick you off with Martin Odegaard and Erling Haaland,' he said. 'I'm going to say it will be 2-1 to England because I think Odegaard or Haaland will score.'
Alan Shearer: England 2-1, Kane Brace
Alan Shearer predicts a 2-1 win with a Harry Kane double. 'I think the performance the other night was what everyone's been waiting for. And I think that's given everyone belief that we can go forward and that we've got a team,' he said. 'I'm going for a 2-1 win against Norway and I'm going for Harry Kane to get our goals.'
Gary Neville: England Win, Haaland Threat
Gary Neville fancies England to win but warns about Erling Haaland. 'It's tough to stop Haaland. He can be anonymous in matches, he doesn't touch it a lot, but you know that he's explosive. He was devastating against Brazil, those two goals were absolutely brilliant,' Neville said. 'It's difficult to stop him for 90 minutes or if extra-time happens as well then it's 120 minutes, but we should be favourites.'
Peter Shilton: England 2-0
England's most capped player Peter Shilton predicts a 2-0 win, with Kane and Jude Bellingham scoring. 'Haaland is the danger, it goes without saying. He's a goal machine and scores goals for fun. They're more than a one-man team but I think we should beat them,' Shilton said.
Troy Deeney: England Win, Then Argentina
Former Watford striker Troy Deeney expects England to beat Norway but lose to Argentina in the semi-finals. 'England haven't dominated one period of any game. My wife said to me the other day, that every time I speak about England, I sound like I hate them. I don't, I just have an expectation,' he told The Sun. 'I'm expecting us to win but at the moment I'd still fancy Argentina to beat us in the semi-final if we both get there.'
David Seaman: England Win if They Play Well
Former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman is confident. 'The Norway game, there's a lot of expectation because we are better than Norway, there's no doubt about it, man to man, apart from striker-ish. But then we've got Harry Kane,' he said on The Inside Channel Podcast. 'If we play our game and we play well, we win.'
Steve McManaman: England Win
Steve McManaman completed a clean sweep of seven pundits tipping England. 'Going into this round of 32 and then 16, once the fixtures came out, I fully expected England to beat DR Congo and Mexico. I expect them to beat Norway too, that's how confident I am in England's XI,' he told ESPN.
