Norway’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years ended in a 2-1 extra-time defeat to England in Miami, and within hours the fallout had moved from the pitch to a wave of death threats directed at forward Alexander Sørloth. His partner, Lena Selnes, published screenshots of messages urging the Atlético Madrid player to take his own life, telling him to leave the country, and threatening his family. The abuse, which Norwegian media described as a criminal campaign, prompted coach Ståle Solbakken to label the episode “tragic” and to advise his squad to stay away from social media.

The flashpoint came in the 44th minute, with Norway leading 1-0 through Andreas Schjelderup’s first-half goal. Sørloth broke clear on a two-on-one counter-attack with Erling Haaland, the tournament’s joint-top scorer, but elected to shoot rather than square the ball. England defender John Stones blocked the effort, and moments later Jude Bellingham equalised in first-half stoppage time. Bellingham struck again in extra time to send England into a semi-final against Argentina. Replays showed a possible spidercam deflection on the equaliser, but FIFA later confirmed the goal was valid.

Sørloth defended his decision after the match, telling reporters he had wanted to pass to Haaland but felt Stones had closed the passing lane. “The only thing I wanted to do in that situation was to pass to Erling. But it felt like the pass wasn’t there, so I went to shoot,” he said. Selnes, in her own statement, said the World Cup brings joy but also “a lot of hatred”, and confirmed she would pursue legal action against the most aggressive accounts. Solbakken, speaking in Miami, said the abuse was “completely devoid of sense on every possible level”.

The incident is the latest in a pattern of online harassment at this World Cup. Colombian winger Jáminton Campaz reported threats after his team’s penalty shootout loss to Switzerland in the round of 16, and FIFA has said it is monitoring thousands of abusive accounts. For Norway, the defeat ends a campaign that had rekindled national interest in the men’s team, but the immediate legacy is a debate about the toxicity players face. England now prepare to meet Argentina in the semi-finals on 19 July, while Norwegian authorities consider whether to bring charges against the most extreme online abusers.