Not sure what it is about the Western clubs but inconsistency is a bit of a theme. I think you nailed it earlier, they have the players to make a serious title run if they can find consistency. Which is going to be hard with so many quality teams and no guaranteed three points this year. There are too many good teams not to have a tight race for medals again this year, but the more exciting part may be who survives the drop and who doesn't.
The draw for the European groups in the World Cup 2023 qualifiers were held today: Norway in group with Belgium, Poland, Albania, Kosovo and Armenia. First impression? A fairly tough group compared to most of the others. Belgium were the best ranked team from pot 2, just like the Netherlands were when we drew them in the qualifiers to the last World Cup. But the comparison stops there. Norway beat Belgium in Brussels with an experimental line-up a few weeks ago. Belgium have had some problems in recent friendlies and might not be as strong as they were one or two years ago. I personally think Iceland would have been a tougher draw for Norway from that pot. The mixed quality of pot 3 practically decides whether a group is tough or not, so Poland was not a good draw from that pot. I feel they are a bit on the rise with some players based in strong clubs around Europe. I wanted to avoid them and the Czechs. These qualifiers are all about escaping traps, do the job and Norway have been pretty good at it over the years. I know very little about Albania, Kosovo and Armenia.
I agree that, as far as pot 2 and pot 3 teams go, it's a quite though group. Italy, for instance, was much more lucky and had a pretty "easy" group. I agree that pot 3 was the one with the wildest differences in power, thus the one "defining" the groups. All that said and done, I guess Norway should manage to top the group anyway, despite the fact that it could be possibly one of the toughest ones (along with Group C, sporting Netherlands, Iceland and Czech Republic). All teams from pot 4 and below are barely relevant: they could be there or not, but nothing should really change.
I see it this way: Difficulty (primarily looking at the top three teams): Toughest: Norway, followed by Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, England and France Easiest: Germany
All Toppserien teams were involved in friendlies on May Day. Arna-Bjørnar 2 – 1 Klepp 0-1 Emma Braut Brunes 3 1-1 Emelie Lövgren 5 2-1 Martine Midtbø 35 Stabæk 2 – 1 Øvrevoll Hosle 1-0 Louise Normann 4 2-0 Thea Loennecken 17 2-1 Julie Støstad 71 Røa 3 – 4 Kolbotn 1-0 Ragne Svastuen 14 1-1 Ingrid Kvernvolden 32 2-1 Ragne Svastuen 47 2-2 Julie Hoff Klæboe 53 3-2 Oline Fuglem 59 3-3 Eline Hegg 60 3-4 Julie Hoff Klæboe 83 LSK Kvinner 1 – 3 Rosenborg 1-0 Emilie Haavi 7 1-1 Elin Sørum 35 1-2 Julie Blakstad 63 1-3 Emilie Lein 76 Vålerenga 3 – 1 Lyn 1-0 Amanda Andradottir 8 2-0 Synne Jensen 22 2-1 Emma Iversen 69 (o.g.) 3-1 Mari Nyhagen 85 Avaldsnes 2 – 3 Sandviken 0-1 Elisabeth Terland 10 0-2 Maria Brochmann 31 1-2 Olaug Tvedten 58 1-3 Rakel Engesvik 85 2-3 Olaug Tvedten 88
Exciting news. Haugesunds Avis reports that Avaldsnes are in talks with Viking FK from Stavanger, one of the biggest clubs in Norway, with a fusion in sight from 2022. Avaldsnes have for long been at loggerheads with neighbouring club FK Haugesund (elite men's club) without getting anywhere regarding a merge or use of stadium facilities etc. Club boss Arne Utvik understands his Avaldsnes project in its current shape has reached its potential, and is looking for solutions to stay competitive. If everything goes according to plan, Viking can take over Avaldsnes' spot in Toppserien already from next year. Current home stadium: Possible new home stadium:
Australian goalkeeper Teagan Micah has returned to Bergen and signed for Sandviken. She was excellent for Arna Bjørnar last year. Several bookies are now having Sandviken as the odds favourites to win their first ever Toppserien title after their strong transfer window. (I still fancy Vålerenga to defend their crown). Norsk Tipping: 2.25 - Sandviken 2.75 - Vålerenga 3.00 - Rosenborg 6.00 - LSK Kvinner 25.00 - Avaldsnes 50.00 - Kolbotn 50.00 - Arna Bjørnar 75.00 - Lyn 75.00 - Stabæk 100.00 - Klepp NordicBet: 2.20 - Sandviken 2.45 - Vålerenga 5.00 - LSK Kvinner 6.50 - Rosenborg 20.00 - Avaldsnes 50.00 - Kolbotn 125.00 - Arna Bjørnar 150.00 - Stabæk 175.00 - Klepp 200.00 - Lyn A few friendlies played on Wednesday: Arna Bjørnar 0 - 2 Rosenborg 0-1 Ina Vårhus 3 0-2 Elin Sørum 22 (pen) Lyn 2 - 0 Hønefoss 1-0 Julie Jorde 15 2-0 Kamilla Melgård 31 Stabæk 5 - 1 Grei 1-0 Maren Thoresen 39 2-0 Zara Jönsson 43 3-0 Melissa Bjånesøy 49 4-0 Maren Thoresen 52 5-0 Linn Huseby 64 5-1 (unknown scorer) Avaldsnes 2 - 2 Åsane 1-0 Malin Johannessen 57 2-0 Victoria Sørensen 62 2-1 Hedda Øvreberg 87 2-2 Dina Dale 90
Absolutely, but my gut feeling says no. Despite some strong signings in defence and midfield, Sandviken haven't signed a new proven goalscorer. Their top scorer last season, Kennya Cordner, scored only five goals, is injury-prone and now 32 y/o. Maria Brochmann has shown promising goal-scoring form in the warm-up matches so far though. I think Vålerenga and Rosenborg will make their big signings later this year before the UWCL qualifiers begin, and then be better equipped for the last half of the season. I think Sandviken might finish third. I posted my season table prediction for 2020 back on page 74 on this thread, but never confronted it against the outcome. Funny to see how it turned out in the end: My prediction ----------- Actual final table LSK Kvinner ............... Vålerenga Vålerenga .................. Rosenborg Sandviken .................. Avaldsnes Arna Bjørnar .............. Sandviken Rosenborg ................ LSK Kvinner Klepp ........................ Lyn Avaldsnes ................. Klepp Røa ........................... Arna Bjørnar ------------------------------------------------------- Kolbotn ..................... Kolbotn ------------------------------------------------------- Lyn ............................ Røa What a crazy season it was. I had LSK on top and Lyn at the bottom and they ended up being neighbours mid-table. The championship was decided by goal difference. Winners Vålerenga dropped points against five different clubs. Rosenborg went unbeaten and still didn't win because they drew against SEVEN different clubs including twice against Vålerenga. Examining the team squads for 2021, I'm just as confused now as before last season. I think we'll see a tight and unpredictable season again. Where I put my two cents now: Vålerenga (my winner), Rosenborg, Sandviken, LSK and Avaldsnes to battle for title and UWCL spots. Arna Bjørnar, Kolbotn, Stabæk, Lyn and Klepp to avoid relegation.
I think the entire world was in the same boat with predictions last year, with just minor adjustments in the medals. Not often you can get odds like 6.50 to 1.00 on a team who didn't lose a game the previous season.
Arna Bjørnar with a fresh team photo. Three wins (vs Avaldsnes, Åsane and Klepp) and one defeat (vs Rosenborg) in warm-up matches so far. On Saturday they take on Sandviken in a Bergen derby. It's a friendly, but only on paper.. As we're getting closer to season kick-off (May 22) the starting line-ups become less experimental and more full strength. Will be interesting to see what they can do against Toppserien's odds favourites. Top row from left: Martine Midtbø, Marte Hjelmhaug, Tora Ose, Moa Edrud, Gudbjörg Gunnarsdottir, Andrea Kvamme, Madelen Holme, Vida Tveit, Emelie Lövgren. Middle row from left: Stein Lone (ass. coach), Tanja Myrseth, Madeleine Veivåg, Mia Jalkerud, Emilie Skrede, Ingrid Jåstad, Maria Østervold, Milena Kokosz, Bjarte Christensen (team manager). Front row from left: Marie Johannsdottir, Meryll Abrahamsen, Thea Bjelde, Martin Dolvik (ass. coach), Øyvind Nordtveit (head coach), Erik Mjelde (player development manager), Kamilla Aabel, Miljana Ivanovic, Linnea Laupstad. Player missing on picture: Marija Aleksic.
Norway's fixture list for the WWC 2023 qualifiers is announced: 16 Sep 2021 - Norway vs Armenia 21 Sep 2021 - Kosovo vs Norway 21 Oct 2021 - Poland vs Norway 26 Oct 2021 - Norway vs Belgium 25 Nov 2021 - Albania vs Norway 30 Nov 2021 - Armenia vs Norway 07 Apr 2022 - Norway vs Kosovo 12 Apr 2022 - Norway vs Poland 02 Sep 2022 - Belgium vs Norway 06 Sep 2022 - Norway vs Albania That second international week in October is key. Poland away and Belgium home in the same window. -- Also today, another fusion in the making. Sandviken likely to become Brann from next season. Brann is an institution in the men's game in Bergen and Norway, and them having a women's team will create a lot of extra buzz. Talks have been going on for a while behind the scenes and the club members are expected to complete the formalities on June 9 during a digital meeting.
The league is changing. Very soon most Toppserien teams will have ties to much larger men's entities (LSK, Vålerenga, Sandviken, Arna-Bjørnar, Stabæk, Rosenborg and Avaldsnes). Are the days numbered for women's programs that don't find a dance partner like Kolbotn, Klepp and Lyn? They're already in a cluster most people would expect in the bottom half of the table. The pace at which the partnering is going on makes you wonder if it's an unspoken league initiative or just fallout of increased competition and everyone looking for an edge.
Sadly, this is a pattern that's showing up everywhere in Europe. I say "sadly", because so far women's football had had the luxury of slowly growing at its own pace, the way men's football had done decades ago in the pioneer era. Now, being attached to a men's club changes everything in proportions that aren't even conceivable by "traditional" women's clubs: talk about "financial doping"; how a club that's not backed up by a men's counterpart is supposed to compete? It's a complete warping of the women's football landscape, and not necessarily in a good way...
As far as the top-seeded teams go, the main way to measure the difficulty of a group is the ratings of the 2nd and 3rd teams. By that measure, Netherlands and Norway clearly have the toughest task while France and Denmark have the easiest schedules. Netherlands 1762 (average rating of the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the group) Norway 1741 Spain 1704 Sweden 1683 Italy 1675 England 1647 Germany 1621 France 1574 Denmark 1568 England has the biggest wild-card in their group, Northern Ireland, which has a low rating but just qualified for the Euros, a major accomplishment. I'm a little surprised at the disparity in these average opponent ratings; 200 points (which is about the difference between the key Netherlands opponents and Denmark's) is pretty significant. An opponent rated 200 points above another would be roughly expected to advance over the lower-rated team 76% of the time in a knockout match)
Yes, I think the days are numbered for clubs like that as far as challenging for medals or UWCL spots, but It's not like Norway have a dozen big clubs ready to take over and revolutionize the league. (Compared to Eng, Ita, Esp, Fra and Ger we have none!). There is already a merger in the North between Fløya and Tromsø. They play in the second league this season and could reach Toppserien next year. In 2022, the big four in Toppserien can be Vålerenga, Rosenborg, Brann and Viking. That's pretty much Norway's big four in terms of commercial potential - the leading clubs in the four biggest cities. I think Stabæk have potential to battle for top spots again in the future, and LSK can never be written off, but various clubs in the Oslo-region (Kolbotn, Røa, Lyn etc.) will probably have to settle for lower half of the table or switch between the top two divisions. As you eloquently put it; not enough dance partners in the region. Other established men's clubs around the country have also started women's teams a few years ago, but are climbing the divisions like everybody else because there are no top women's teams to take over nearby in this Oslo dominated league. But the amateur leagues have been put on halt for over a year now because of the pandemic. It's been growing a bit too slowly for decades now, don't you think? If big countries in Europe bring their super clubs, Norway can't continue to let their lower league amateur clubs run elite women's football if they want to stay somewhat competitive. Therefore I applaud the initiative from the big clubs. I wish they had been there many years ago as well, but better late than never. Looking around social media, 95% react positively to Brann's potential merger with Sandviken. Players are thrilled. Maren Mjelde said she only wants to finish her career in Norway if Brann launch a women's team (she is from Bergen). Brann were in contact with Arna Bjørnar as well, but chose to go ahead with Sandviken instead after a closer evaluation. Arna Bjørnar announced they are still ambitious as a Toppserien club. They represent a typical small club trying to survive in Toppserien. And there will be more like them.
A few friendlies today. Lyn 1 – 1 Kolbotn 0-1 Julie Hoff Klæboe 15 1-1 Sofie Tunes 24 Vålerenga 1 – 1 LSK Kvinner 0-1 Mille Ivi Christensen 47 1-1 Ylinn Tennebø 87 LSK's goalscorer Christensen is only 16 years old (b. Nov 2004). She has fought her way into the starting line-up in the last few games in an attacking midfield role. She set up Haavi's goal against Rosenborg on Wednesday with a quality assist and now scored against the champions. One to keep an eye on for future games. Avaldsnes 3 – 0 Klepp 1-0 Andrea Norheim 49 2-0 Andrea Norheim 52 3-0 Sandra Østenstad 85 Sandviken 6 – 0 Arna Bjørnar 1-0 Marit Bratberg Lund 24 2-0 Lisa Naalsund 48 3-0 Tuva Hansen 58 4-0 Vilde Bøe Risa 62 5-0 Vilde Bøe Risa 76 6-0 Rakel Engesvik 90 AB's Marija Aleksic subbed out after only twenty minutes with what looks like a possible ACL injury. AB players said in post-match interviews, they lost focus on the game after her injury and terrifying screams.
@Bauser - all this coverage is a real gift, can't thank you enough. Being linked with men's programs is a two-sided coin. The benefits are of course things like funding, facilities, administration, infrastructure, staff, etc. The difficult part is you are giving up control of your program and accepting a role where you will always be an after-thought. But not linking up has it's price, I'm reminded of the storied Doncaster Belles and their league-engineered fall from grace. Here I was thinking Arna Bjørnar was doing ok in pre-season and then Sandviken pastes them. I'm sure part was the injury but surely not a six goal spread. Perhaps the pundits have Sandviken dialed in and they are that strong and consistency will follow. They go on a very-winnable five game run out of the gate but then we'll get a good idea mid-summer when they roll LSK, Vålerenga and Rosenborg inside 18 days. Then they have a week to recover with Lyn and are right back into the fire with Rosenborg and Vålerenga again.
Since @Klingo3034 is from the USA, I guess there could be a sub-text in his comment that @Bauser could possibly miss: there is an ongoing discussion on the US boards about age limits to play in the NWSL, that, unlike most women's leagues in the world, wouldn't allow a 16 yo scorer.
I had missed it. Toppserien's age limit is 15 btw. Or more detailed, you must have turned 15 by the start of the calendar year, so the youngest birthdate eligible for play this year is 31 December 2005.
On the US board, I reminded people that Homare Sawa debuted in Nadeshiko League (then, actually, it was called L-League) at age 12! But, despite being Homare Sawa, I don't think she would be allowed to do that these days.
12, wow! I have heard about 13 in Iceland. I think Toppserien had 14 as limit a number of years ago. Caro Hansen played already in 2010 (she is born Feb 1995), so she would not have been eligible under current rules.
I must admit I wasn't following women's football yet when Sawa debuted, but all sources seem to agree that she debuted at club level in top Division at 12, in year 1991. She started her Senior National Team career at 15. Of course, we're talking about an "one in a generation" kind of talent