Ellie Goulding has said “truly anything could happen” as she prepares to perform at half-time during England’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway.
England will face Norway in the 2026 World Cup quarter-final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida on Saturday (July 11), with kick-off scheduled for 10pm UK time.
Now, the singer has shared a post on Instagram ahead of the game, with photos of herself leaping excitedly on her bed. “Performing at halftime for England vs Norway has me feeling like truly anything could happen…” she wrote, seemingly nodding to her 2012 hit of the same name.
“I already know the boys will make England proud, it’s coming home,” she added.
England booked their place in the last eight with a dramatic 3-2 victory over co-hosts Mexico, while Norway reached their first-ever World Cup quarter-final by knocking out Brazil 2-1, with Erling Haaland scoring twice.
The winners of England vs Norway will go on to face either Argentina or Switzerland in the semi-finals next week.
Goulding is preparing to release her sixth studio album ‘I Know Too Much’ on September 4 – pre-order it here. The record will follow 2023’s UK Number One album ‘Higher Than Heaven’.
Last month, Goulding shared the rousing new single ‘Black Prada Dress’, which she said “sets the tone” for the upcoming album. “The album came from the idea that maybe we can know too much,” she explained. “There is a certain kind of freedom in the ease of not knowing.”
She had debuted the song during her slot at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Sunderland in May, and also performed it during a stop on Later… with Jools Holland last month.
Speaking to NME late last year about her upcoming material, Goulding said: “This is probably the most honest I’ve been in my lyrics. I don’t have anyone to answer to. In certain situations, you’re trying to please someone, but for the first time ever, I don’t feel like I have to do that. I’m just making music that I love.”
“It’s a really liberating feeling I have at the moment,” she added. “The songs aren’t too on the nose or mainstream, but they’re also not too unusual. It’s all just really freeing and different.”
In 2025, Goulding also released the empowering single ‘Destiny’, which she said had been inspired by the heartbreak and lingering questions that arose after her divorce. “It was a marriage, not just a relationship,” she told NME. “I didn’t know what else to do other than make music.”
In other recent news, Goulding celebrated being honoured with an MBE by sharing praise for women working on climate protection.
NME gave ‘Higher Than Heaven’ a four-star review, noting that it “may not be strictly personal, but it definitely sounds like an album crafted with care, skill and no small amount of flair”.
The post Ellie Goulding to perform at half-time of England vs Norway World Cup quarter-final: “Anything could happen” appeared first on NME.
