The Norway thread

Yes, you did. Isaksen in particular is in doubt. She left practice today in tears. She missed the World Cup through a knee-injury and now it's a heel troubling her. The squad travels to France tomorrow and the medical staff will decide before departure whether Isaksen can come along or not. If she stays home, I assume Lisa Naalsund of Arna Bjørnar will be called up instead.

PS: @AndyHE , the Hegerberg article passed the paywall when clicking on that twitter link.

 

Caro Hansen is humiliating roommate Stine Reinås in practice.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1772789236072562

 

I didn't expect us to dominate France at their ground. 1-1 is a good result considering we struggled much due to our inexperienced midfield and sloppy distribution from the back. Thomis makes every full-back look slow. We're not going to come up against a player like that in every game. She also ran out of steam in the second half. We showed good fighting spirit getting a draw after getting pummeled in the first half, and in particular during the first 10 mins.

Because our midfield couldn't control the ball properly, we couldn't set up Caro enough in situations where she can blossom, which again led to Ada being boxed in for most of the match. But I think we saw improvements in the second half. Martin Sjögren must now have got some answers after that second half. He needs to play Mjelde in midfield and let Thorisdottir partner Holstad at the back. But I'm not sure which two players should join Mjelde in that midfield.

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@blissett : Goalkeepers in America are like beer in the fridge. Just go get one. Medkila knows. I wonder if this girl looked at the league table before she signed.

 

I translated an article from TV2 where former star Lene Mykjåland shared some comments about every player in the Euro squad.


GOALKEEPERS

#1 - Ingrid Hjelmseth
She isn't tired of football even if every finger has been broken over the years. Some of them are still crooked. Ingrid is one of the smartest in the squad. She works as an engineer at Veritas besides a career in football. Ingrid always has an opinion and makes herself heard even if you like it or not.

#12 - Cecilie Fiskerstrand
«Fisken» (The fish) is one of Norway's biggest goalkeeper talents and is overly enthusiastic about training. Cecilie often frantically begins a third session after the ordinary two are done for the day. She also has an outrageous circadian rhythm and has to be in bed by nine o'clock.

#23 - Oda Marie Bogstad
One of our three debutants who has been important for Klepp in Toppserien. She has already showed her sense of humour when making this video with her roommate Frida Maanum.

DEFENDERS

#11 - Nora Holstad Berge
Nora is an unorthodox type of centre-back, who might as well do a Cruyff-turn inside the penalty-box and get away with it. She is a pro through and through which is quite amusing as she usually only ate hot-dogs with extra everything as a teenager.

#21 - Kristine Leine
The girl from the village Skodje is in her first A tournament. She is known to get lost everywhere. She can't navigate in Oslo, not even with the help of Google maps. A young and promising central defender.

#16 - Anja Sønstevold
This cute little thing can run and run until tomorrow. She is also one of the better players at passing the ball in the squad, an allrounder in defence and midfield, who still waits for her big international break-through. Off the field, Anja is one of the funniest and weirdest girls. She likes to scare Ingrid Moe Wold a lot, and has to blow her nose after every shower to feel clean.

#3 - Maria Thorisdottir
Maria is the team's bully and prankster. She can put a fish in your bed when you're not watching. Maria is a natural talent physically. Strength, speed and endurance in one package. Just as good at handball as at football. Only Maria can decide how far she can go. She is also the one in the squad who enjoys being in the spotlight the most.

#9 - Elise Thorsnes
Alongside Maria, Elise is the team's bully who you have to watch out for. Elise was injured a lot earlier, and we thought it was because she just had more pace and power than an ordinary body could handle. Norwegian youth champion in decathlon. Off the field, even a stone can be charmed by Elise, and she has a naughty comment to drop every once in a while.

#2 - Ingrid Moe Wold
The Duracell battery on Norway's right side never runs empty. She is just as much a winger as a full-back. Off the field, she is the most skittish player. Especially Emilie (Haavi) and Anja (Sønstevold) are her worst enemies in that matter. Moe gets paranoid if her boots get muddy. She is also scared of elevators. Let's hope the team don't end up on the 8th floor at their hotel.

#13 - Stine Reinås
Stine is one of the most laid-back individuals. At 22, she still hasn't got rid of her stuffed animals from childhood in bed. They are with us everywhere. You never see her stressed on or off the field. But suddenly she freaks out and gives you the middle finger. A good passer, good speed and reads the game well.

#5 - Tuva Hansen
At 19, Tuva has a tattoo of her boyfriend's name on her wrist. Even if she isn't the biggest in the squad, she is certainly one of the loudest. Very temperamental with a soft side. Like Stine, Tuva also has a cuddly thing on the camp, a stuffed teddy bear.

#6 - Maren Mjelde
Our «Captain fantastic» can have a broken foot or be ill, she still delivers. She never has a poor match. At only 165cm, she might still be one of Norway's best players in the air. In Canada, Maren watched LeBron James and NBA as warm-up to the matches. This year, I guess she will just sleep. She is so laid-back and chill.

MIDFIELDERS

#8 - Andrine Hegerberg
May be not in line with her wanted «street cred», but it should be mentioned that Andrine giggles a lot and is easily moved to tears. She also loves Disney-movies. She is also very late leaving the locker-room because she can't tie her shoelaces properly! But we love to see her set up goals with that precise left foot of hers in her first senior tournament.

#7 - Ingrid Schjelderup
Ingrid has spent most of her career in Sweden, but thankfully can still speak Norwegian. I don't know whether she likes meatballs better than football, but she likes to "fika" for sure. A "bulle" and a cappuccino and her day is made. She has struggled a bit with injuries in recent years, but her rapid feet can give Norway aggressiveness in midfield.

#18 - Frida Maanum
You might feel special when you do an improvised handshake with Frida, until you find out she does that with everybody. 17 and the youngest in the squad, but already oozes confidence and stability. She becomes a kid again every time she sees water - loves to take a bath. She is no fan of television shows, except the soap Hotel Cæsar. She is a bit scatterbrained. Almost missed her big christian confirmation because she forgot all her necessities. Frida is an intelligent player who might give Norway an extra dimension already now.

#22 - Ingrid Spord
The Bergen girl travelled East a year ago to LSK and quickly settled down. Has grown a lot in this short timeframe. She puts football on top of her life's priorities. Has to eat Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries after every practice. She also loves blue cheese and likes to watch programmes about interior design on TV. She uses the scooter as her main form of transportation.

#4 - Guro Reiten
Guro always takes a shower before the match and drinks a pot of coffee every day. May be that's the secret to her creativity on the field. Halfway through the season, she is the top scorer of Toppserien in her first season at LSK. We hope to see her shine at the Euros.

#19 - Ingvild Isaksen
The midfield engine «Isak» is a friend with every dog and ticket holder at every major concert held in Norway. Rumours say, it's a lot. Enjoys lazy days. Opponents usually crash to the ground when Isak runs into them. Off the field, she is a big smile and together with Nora (Holstad), the best photobomber in the squad.

FORWARDS

#20 - Emilie Haavi
At 25 and in her fourth major tournament, Emilie is one of the more experienced players. Now full-time pro at Boston Breakers. She loves to sing in the car, is a bad loser at board games and for some reason has become the team's hairdresser. Emilie has already used her scissors on five players during the pre-camp.

#17 - Kristine Minde
Kristine has the best and loudest laughter in the squad, and her real age is 70. She likes to knit when we have time off at pre-camps. She is also positivity personfied. It could rain sideways and be freezing temperatures, Kristine will never complain. She is every coach's dream, because she has a workrate out of this world. Was voted the squad's most valuable player at the last Euros 2013. We look forward to see her chase down opposing full-backs.

#10 - Caroline Graham Hansen
The magician who touches something deep inside of us every time she plays. She also can't stop talking. If you first press "play", there is no stopping her. She will talk until tomorrow. Caro is also a football nerd, knows the name of every footballer and beats everyone at FIFA. Did you know our playmaker has a shoe fetish? You will most likely only see her in brand new shoes. Caro is in a class of her own. Balance, skill, speed. A wonder child we still haven't seen the best of.

#14 - Ada Hegerberg
Ada's middle name is "Vicious". This girl breaks barriers time and again, and all these awards she has won have been no coincidence. She has an inner motivation which is admirable. She is also a cool character, takes life as it comes and hangs out with Ronaldo, as if that was everyday-like. Ada is a people person who creates good atmosphere everywhere she goes - and is an unofficial Norwegian champion in doing high fives.

#15 - Lisa Marie Utland
The squad's most brutal player on the field, is the sweetest and most innocent off it. Lisa becomes another person when she enters the field, and is every defenders nightmare, because it hurts physically to play against her and she has dirty tricks. She is strong like the Hulk and never gives up. She could be the wild card in this tournament.

 

That's the big question before this game. Sjögren even ordered closed training sessions. May be it's just me, but I think Thorisdottir just hinted on instagram a few minutes ago she'll start this game. That would mean Mjelde in midfield from kick-off.

 

Norway vs Belgium 0-2. It's hard to describe what we've witnessed today. I'm numb. Fiasco in Breda. Did we really get this crap in one week? Before Algarve we were unbeaten for a year, but it's been a nosedive ever since. NFF say Sjögren's job is not on the line. I guess it happens to all teams sooner or later, that things just don't work.

Sure, Thorisdottir was injured on the warm-up and therefore Mjelde couldn't be moved up to midfield as planned, but it's no excuse. Belgium won far more 50/50 balls than they should have. Caro missed an open goal midway through the first half. Unfortunately that's been a bad habbit of hers lately. She has scored less goals than usual also at Wolfsburg and missed some incredible chances last season. She needs to improve that part of her game.

And for Ada, her timing is off. She is either one step too soon, or one step too late from connecting with passes or crosses. And if her timing for once is on, she has problems doing something productive with the ball. In post-match interviews, Ada was more angry than sad. No tears to see. Caro, on the other hand, broke into tears in interviews, totally inconsolable, sobbing.

As bad as this Belgium game was, it was still a step up from the game against the Dutch even if the scoreline suggests otherwise. At least we created chances, but our defending has been appalling and the sloppy passing from midfield continues to be a problem. We should have Guro Reiten on from start against Denmark. No more Schjelderup. Something needs to be done.

We are still in with a mathematical chance to make it to the quarterfinals. Netherlands are now certain(?) group-winners and will of course field many reserves against hungry Belgians. It doesn't look good, but the players must keep the faith.

 

Thank God it's over. 270+ minutes of goalless frustration. Norway have looked crap ever since Algarve to be honest. No progress. Sjögren had a good start in January beating England and Sweden at La Manga, extending our unbeaten run to 10 matches, but that was a team unit he inherited from Roger Finjord. The more Sjögren has worked with the team, the worse it has become. A worrying trend. We keep telling ourselves that friendlies are for testing, and they are, but when the end product is what we've seen at the Euros, you wonder what on earth they've been doing at all these practice sessions. At least Sjögren made some adjustments for the Denmark game. Based on performance this loss was our best. And based on chances we deserved at least a draw tonight.

But Norway won't even qualify for the World Cup playing like this. They have to go back to the Netherlands already in October for the crucial away leg in the WC qualifiers. Problems need to be sorted out. We need to bounce back and quickly. Like England did after Euro 2013.

Sjögren can't be blamed 100% for this failure even if he is the architect for how the team plays. We lacked leaders in midfield, naturally because of the retirements of key players recently. Sjögren's wingless formation failed. Our full-backs weren't effective going forward because the midfielders couldn't keep the ball long enough for them to join the attack, which again resulted in less crosses into the box for Ada & co to work with. Which somewhat explains why Ada was invisible for so long. The results are bad enough, but it's amazing how little chances we actually created in these three games. All our opponents had done their homework against us. Norway probably came up short also in that department.

I think a few of our players might have worn the NT jersey for the last time tonight. Some of the older ones like Schjelderup for sure, may be Hjelmseth also and Holstad who is still without a club.

 

Hi @Thomsen, I can now answer your question from a few weeks ago. If all players are available, this is my preferred line-up and 4-2-3-1 formation for Norway going into the WC qualifiers.

............................Hegerberg

Haavi.....................Reiten..................CG Hansen

.....................Mjelde......Bøe Risa

Tuva Hansen......Thorisdottir......Reinås.....Moe Wold

............................Hjelmseth


We need more width in our attacking game than we have seen in the Euros, so therefore Haavi and Hansen who can both go wide to cross and cut inside to shoot if needed. I want Vilde Bøe Risa as the anchor because she is the best passer and calm under pressure. Mjelde brings stability and leadership to the engine room in midfield. Reiten falls down as the third central midfielder when we are chasing the ball.

Tuva Hansen is quick and is my new left back. I think it's about time she gets more time on the field, and playing next to her Klepp teammate Thorisdottir will be familiar for her. Thorsnes back to the bench as a substitute forward. Nora Holstad has not been up to normal standard lately, and I fear we might see the end of her international career. I think Stine Reinås should be the new central defender.

Hjelmseth or Fiskerstrand in goal? For some reason I'm still leaning towards Hjelmseth, but it's a toss up.

In comparison to my line-up, this is how Norway lined-up in the Euros (vs the Dutch):

.................Minde........Hegerberg

........................CG Hansen

..........Maanum Thorisdottir Schjelderup

Thorsnes....Holstad....Mjelde.......Moe Wold

.........................Hjelmseth

 

True, but Minde is Sjögren's favourite player, they worked together at Linköping, and I doubt she'll ever be dropped. She is an asset at her best though. Sjögren also brought back another Sweden based player, Ingrid Schjelderup, who was out in the cold under Roger Finjord's reign. Apart from her assist against France, Schjelderup has barely put a foot right since rejoining the NT. The midfield problem must be solved soon.