It's not going to be a straightforward game necessarily though Croatia is not exactly a powerhouse in women's football even in Eastern Europe so I expect Norway to stay in League A though they need to step up.
Wales is much weaker than Norway though, they were always going to be relegated and finish bottom in a group with teams like Germany and Denmark.
Croatia 0 - Norway 3 Hegerberg 16' Graham Hansen 49' Bizet 62' They were a lot more energized than in past matches. And FWIW, they actually all looked very happy in all the practice photos I saw leading up to this. (As well as the team photo.) Looking at the stats, you'd think they would have added 3-4 more goals, easily. But three goals coming after earlier embarrassments, and I'll gladly take it. Unfortunately, CGH was injured, and at one point, it seemed like Hegerberg would join her. There's still a lot of work to be done, but hopefully, this really will be a new start for the team.
Nations League A-B pro/rel match Croatia 0 - 3 Norway Hegerberg 17, Graham Hansen 49, Bizet 62 Gemma Grainger's first match in charge ended with a simple win against a rather toothless Croatia. A three goal win was way too narrow based on the 81/19 possession dominance. Grainger could select her line-up from pretty much a full squad this time. It seems she prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation, at least against lesser opposition. We'll see what she comes up with against tougher teams. Reiten is finally used out on the left wing, like at Chelsea. Riise put her in central midfield. Maren Mjelde made her 175th cap tonight. She is pushing 35, not playing much at Chelsea and her captaincy is under threat, according to sources near the team. I wouldn't be surprised if Brann's Marthine Østenstad replaces her very soon. Not during this international window though. May be next. Maanum doesn't look as sharp now as last season when she was outstanding at times. Caro Hansen oozes quality every time she gets near the ball. She has raised her game to another level this season. Vilde Bøe Risa threaded a perfect ball through for Hegerberg's opening goal. Caro Hansen added a second goal with a brilliant shot just after the interval. One blemish here though. Caro left the field immediately after scoring. Precautionary purposes, according to the staff. She felt something in the hamstring. Norway's third goal was scored by substitute Celin Bizet after receiving the ball from Reiten. Croatia had little to offer apart from the quick forward, Ivana Rudelic, who tested our defence with her pace a few times. But three goals up, the return leg in Stavanger should now be a formality. Hegerberg Reiten -- Maanum -- CG Hansen Engen -- Bøe Risa Bratberg Lund -- Mjelde -- Harviken -- Bjelde Mikalsen Substitutions: 52 min - Celin Bizet for Caroline Graham Hansen 71 min - Karina Sævik for Frida Maanum 71 min - Tuva Hansen for Thea Bjelde 71 min - Lisa Naalsund for Vilde Bøe Risa
I mean, the team looked pretty darn happy before the match. Awww. And CGH *almost* cracked a real smile.
Good performance, honestly a 0-3 defeat doesn't even look that bad for Croatia given how dominant Norway were statistically. Also more than 3,000 people were in attendance which is a Croatian record for a women's game.
If Grainger manages to keep the infighting away from the team, that might be the biggest improvement she could bring to the table.
Apparently the players had no idea who she (Grainger) was prior to being selected as the new coach. Other names were floated around like Bayern's Norwegian coach Alexander Straus before Grainger was ultimately chosen. Either way, they were always very likely to stay in League A, the issue will be what happens come spring and summer when they will have to face the likes of Spain, Denmark, Germany, England AND beat some of them to qualify directly. Even teams like Finland, Ireland, Poland or the Czech Republic won't exactly be walks in the park either.
That's true about Reiten, I also noticed that she was rarely if ever used on the wings under previous coaches. Why would a 22 year old Østenstad who is not even a regular starter for Norway replace Mjelde as the new captain? Maybe in a few years if no captain is found whenever Mjelde retires and if Brann goes far in the UWCL this season or next but I can't imagine Østenstad getting the captaincy 'very soon' over other more experienced players. Caro Hansen's form is worrying, it's like she can't go more than a game with Norway without getting injured somehow and then sidelined for many weeks or months. This is the third time in a year, I can't remember the last time she played 5 to 10 games in a row for Norway without interruptions.
I don't think Bauser meant the captaincy, just her position. Hegerberg, Reiten and CGH are (were?) all part of the captain's team, so I imagine captain would fall to one of them.
Like Bonnie Lass said, Østenstad is likely to replace Mjelde in the team soon, but the captaincy will go elsewhere. Probably Ada, Caro, Reiten or Engen. True. Let's hope it's nothing serious. She will be examined today in Norway. We should hear something later on this weekend.
Ah my bad, I misunderstood. I thought you were saying that the captaincy would go to Østenstad very soon which made no sense to me. Of course Østenstad is among the next generation of defenders whenever Mjelde retires. Her but also Harviken and Bjelde although both have been major liabilities in defense so far. Engen was voted best player of the game against Croatia, that's yet another solid for her performance, I thought she was quite decent in Austria too after a disastrous Euro 2 years ago.
Here is a picture of Caro doing exercises with the squad back in Stavanger on Saturday. I take this as a good sign regarding her hamstring. If she had left the party and headed back to Barcelona, that should have been mentioned in the news by now.
That's true, I noticed that too. It's good because taking her off for "precaution" this past year looked like a politically correct way of saying she was out indefinitely. With that being said, I would give the opportunity to a few players who rarely play for the return leg. With the Euro qualifiers beginning in less than 2 months, there is no point risking some key players from the get-go.
I had to google that expression. This is what came up: "an unkind, annoyed, or serious expression that someone has on their face when relaxed, without intending to. Having a resting bitch face makes people think you're unfriendly."
Yeah it's mostly a North American (or even American) concept, not that known to most Europeans myself included. The only reason I know about it is because I grew up in Canada up until my mid 20s. It's definitely a real thing though, scientifically proven. It's like writing WoSo (which I hate) instead of women's football or just football.
Graham Hansen is missing from Norway training Caroline Graham Hansen had to pull out with an injury in Friday's match against Croatia. There were few who could say anything concrete about the injury on Friday, other than that it was a hamstring injury. - With a hamstring injury, it doesn't have to be anything serious but it can be serious. It is difficult with hamstring injuries, said national team manager Gemma Grainger to NRK. At Sunday's training, Graham Hansen was not present for the first quarter, when the media were allowed to be present. No one in the coaching staff wanted to say anything about it. Neither Ada Hegerberg nor Maren Mjelde participated in the first quarter.
As it is established that Norway will stay in league A NL, it s possible these 3 ones are preserved for Champions league, CGH for Barca, Mjelde for Chelsea, and Ada for OL and it would be not surprising they don t play the second leg against Coratia
Fair enough for Ada and Mjelde but we still don't know if Caro Hansen is injured or not. Either way, I would be in favor of giving some players more playing time in the second game, possibly putting Pettersen on goal, trying out Gaupset and Kielland etc.
Hahaha, but imagine, you have to spend a month in a remote country or on the moon for any mission with only one person, and you have the choice between Engen and CGH. do you hesitate a second ?
If someone knows where to rewatch the game against Croatia in full, please let me know. I checked the usual channels but could not find anything except highlights.
It's available on NRK, but geoblocked outside Norway. That's the only full game version I've stumbled across yet.