While much attention will focus on Harry Kane and Erling Haaland before England's World Cup quarter-final against Norway, both strikers carry no mystery. They will play, and they will probably score. A more complex decision for managers Thomas Tuchel and Ståle Solbakken is who to deploy as wingers. Neither team has completed a game this summer fielding the wide forwards who began it.
England's Winger Rotation Under Tuchel
England have utilised Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford on the left, with Arsenal pair Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka covering the right. 'All four of the wingers are competing against each other at the highest level,' Tuchel said after the opening game against Croatia. None of the quartet has completed more than 57% of available minutes at the World Cup or started more than three of five matches, making the competition fierce.
Tuchel seems undecided on his favoured duo, having tried five of six possible combinations. Gordon and Rashford have not been paired, as both prefer the left. The manager's in-game decisions have been partly driven by the scoreline, but he has changed his wide forwards earlier with each match.
Jarell Quansah's red card against Mexico affected that game; Saka was withdrawn shortly after the 54th-minute dismissal, leaving England to play without wingers. One pattern has emerged: in each of the previous three matches, the starting wingers were the two who ended the preceding game.
Style of Play and Key Statistics
Choices may have been influenced by the style Tuchel required for specific opponents. Gordon leads the squad for average length of ball carry at the World Cup (14.9 metres), while Madueke tops total distance carried per 90 minutes (255.8 metres). Rashford is the leading England winger for carries of at least five metres ending with a shot, scoring from one against Croatia. Only two players at the tournament have created more goals after carries than Saka, one being Norway's Andreas Schjelderup.
Norway's Structured Approach
Solbakken has been more structured with his wingers than Tuchel. The duo of Antonio Nusa and Alexander Sørloth started three of four 'first-team' matches, with Schjelderup and Oscar Bobb finishing each of those. Schjelderup's only start came when Solbakken made 10 changes for the final group game against France. Having assisted Haaland for both goals against Brazil, the 22-year-old may start against England.
All four assists from Norway's wingers came from the left, so England's right-back must cut off the supply line to Haaland. For Norway's backline, repelling threats from wide areas is more varied, even if the need to keep Kane out of the game remains the same. Kane or Haaland may take the headlines, but the success of their wingers could decide the outcome.
