Norway illness scare and Henderson wrist update cloud England's World Cup quarter-final build-up

Norway are battling illness in their camp ahead of the World Cup quarter-final against England, with Norwegian outlet Dagbladet reporting that fatigue and sickness have disrupted the squad’s preparations. The concerns come after an extensive run of travel across North America during the tournament.

Norway reached the last eight with a commanding victory over Brazil, in which Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored twice. Despite that impressive display, the physical toll of the competition appears to be mounting, with the squad reportedly recovering from bouts of illness as they look to extend their run.

Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson has provided an update on the wrist injury that ruled him out of England’s campaign. The midfielder required surgery after fracturing his wrist in a freak incident following England’s win over Mexico, when he lost his grip attempting to vault an advertising board and fell awkwardly. Henderson posted a photo alongside the medical team who treated him, his heavily casted arm visible in the image.

Elsewhere at the tournament, Argentina’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Egypt has sparked controversy. Egypt forward Mostafa Ziko, who scored his side’s second goal, alleged the result was fixed, saying: “It was a rigged game. It wasn’t our fault. That referee… it seems like this match was rigged. We were winning 2-0, and he kept coming at us. Congratulations to Argentina on another World Cup, it seems.”

Argentina had trailed 2-0 in Atlanta, Georgia, and were within ten minutes of elimination before scoring three times to keep their title defence alive. Egypt were angered by two key VAR decisions during the match — a disallowed goal following an apparent foul on Nicolas Tagliafico, and the failure to award a penalty in the build-up to Argentina’s winner. FIFA has since issued two new bans related to incidents at the tournament, though the governing body has not publicly addressed Egypt’s allegations.

The quarter-finals begin with France facing Morocco at Boston Stadium, with Kylian Mbappé looking to close the gap on Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot.