Alexander Sorloth faces online abuse after Norway's exit from World Cup

Norway forward Alexander Sorloth has faced severe online abuse after his country's World Cup quarter-final defeat by England on Saturday, manager Stale Solbakken said.

The abuse started after Sorloth refused to pass an unmarked Erling Haaland and shoot instead during a crucial two-on-one counter-attack while Norway were leading the match 1-0 against the Three Lions.

His shot was blocked and England equalised minutes later before going on to win 2-1 after extra time.

Andreas Schjelderup opened the scoring for Norway in the 36th minute of the match. However, Jude Bellingham scored an equaliser for England in the stoppage time of the first half.

The Real Madrid midfielder, Bellingham, then put England ahead following Orjan Nyland’s error in the third minute of extra time to ensure the Three Lions progressed to the World Cup semi-finals.

Sorloth's partner, Lena Selnes, shared screenshots on Instagram showing a flood of abusive messages, including comments urging the striker to take his own life.

"It is tragic," Solbakken told a press conference in Miami.

"That is the world we live in. I tell the boys to stay away from social media, especially on days like this."

"There is nothing more to say about it other than it is completely devoid of sense on every possible level."

Atletico Madrid forward Sorloth, 30, defended his decision after the match, explaining that England defender John Stones had made it difficult for him to pass to Haaland.

"The only thing I wanted to do in that situation was to pass to Erling," Sorloth said. "But it felt like the pass wasn't there, so I went to shoot."