Women's World Cup: England made history - Sampson

England "delivered for the country" and "made history" in beating Norway to reach the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup, said manager Mark Sampson.

A 2-1 win was the Lionesses' first in a World Cup knockout match and booked a last-eight meeting with hosts Canada.

"They knew this was a big game and they wanted to write their names into our football history," said Sampson.

"They have made history and deserve all the credit in the world. They stepped up and delivered for the country."

England had to come from behind to beat the 1995 World Cup winners, as captain Steph Houghton cancelled out Solveig Gulbrandsen's goal with a header before Lucy Bronze's stunning long-range strike 14 minutes from time sealed victory.

"We've seen in this tournament that if you concede the first goal it's incredibly difficult to win a game," Welshman Sampson told BBC Sport.

"This group of 23 players has shown resilience, character and discipline to come back and win that match. We'll take huge confidence from that victory."

England, who have not been past the quarter-finals in three previous appearances at the World Cup, meet Canada in Vancouver at 00:30 BST on Sunday.

The hosts, who beat England 1-0 in a pre-tournament friendly, are managed by Englishman John Herdman.

"It's going to be a big game in front of a big crowd," added Sampson. "It's a special one to look forward to.

"We know we face a game against an excellent manager and an excellent team. We will prepare with due diligence and then it is about the players delivering."

'Why don't you shoot?'

Manchester City defender Bronze found the net from the corner of the penalty area after good work from substitutes Jill Scott and Jodie Taylor.

"Normally I'd pass, but in training people have said 'why don't you shoot when you're on the edge of the box? Shoot, shoot, you're always there'," said the 23-year-old. "So in my head I thought 'I'm going to shoot'.

"I guess scoring the goal is a bit of history but it was a team effort and it was a very tough game to play in. I'm ecstatic that we've won."

Sampson added: "I thought Lucy Bronze was outstanding. She's got the potential to be, without a shadow of a doubt, the best right-back in the world.

"She recovered from a first half in which she made a couple of errors, but in the second half she showed her character and resilience to produce that performance in both boxes."

'We were under pressure'

Houghton headed in from Fara Williams' corner seven minutes after Gulbrandsen glanced Norway ahead.

The skipper highlighted the improvements England have made since losing the opening game 1-0 to France.

"I'm so proud of everyone that is involved," said Houghton. "We've come a long way in this tournament and took a bit of stick after the France game about how we played.

"We dug deep and showed a bit of character under great pressure."