England face Norway in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday night, with seven prominent pundits all backing Thomas Tuchel's side to progress. The Three Lions are coming off a dramatic 3-2 win against Mexico despite playing with 10 men, while Norway shocked Brazil in the previous round. Erling Haaland poses the biggest threat for Norway, but pundits believe England have the quality to prevail.
Bryan Robson Predicts 2-1 Win
Former England captain Bryan Robson tipped England to win 2-1, acknowledging Norway's strength. "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," Robson said. "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... I'm going to say it will be 2-1 to England because I think Odegaard or Haaland will score."
Alan Shearer Backs Harry Kane Brace
Alan Shearer confidently predicted a 2-1 win, with Harry Kane scoring both goals. "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," Shearer said. "I'm going for a 2-1 win against Norway and I'm going for Harry Kane to get our goals."
Gary Neville Warns of Haaland Threat
Gary Neville fancies England to win but highlighted the challenge of stopping 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," Neville said. "It's difficult to stop him for 90 minutes... but we should be favourites and I don't think that's us getting carried away."
Peter Shilton Sees Comfortable 2-0
England's most capped player Peter Shilton predicted a 2-0 victory, 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. "I'm going to go for 2-0. Harry Kane's going to get one and probably Jude Bellingham again."
Troy Deeney Expects Win but Questions Performance
Troy Deeney shared concerns about England's performances but still expects a win. "England haven't dominated one period of any game," Deeney said. "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 Confident in England's Quality
David Seaman expressed confidence, saying England are better man for man. "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," Seaman said. "If we play our game and we play well, we win."
Steve McManaman Unanimous in Support
Steve McManaman made it seven out of seven pundits backing 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," McManaman said.
