– I think we have sailed up as an outsider. It means something that someone is starting to gain respect for Norway being able to perform in this championship, says Sjögren to news. It was in March that Ada Hegerberg chose to return to the Norwegian national team after retiring in 2017. Since she returned, Norway has won all matches. The Lyon striker stands with four goals in four games since the return. In addition to being a world-class goal scorer, Sjögren says she has some qualities that are not as easy to see with the naked eye. COACH: Martin Sjögren. Photo: Martin Solhaug Standal / NTB He thinks they want to get more respect from the opponents with Hegerberg in the team. – We hope to take advantage of it, says Norway’s national team manager. – She contributed a lot that one does not see. She contributes with leadership and wants to set a high standard. She demands a lot of herself, and it spreads to others as well. It is clear that a player like Ada, with the status she has in the football world, they have very great respect for her, he continues. Hege Riise, who these days has led Norway’s J19 team to the European Championship final, thinks the star striker is important to increase the respect of the opponent. – She is a world-class striker, something she was before the injury, but also in, for example, the Champions League final this spring. What she delivers means that they have to pay attention to more than Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten. This is something that the Norwegian team benefits greatly from, says Riise. ROSAR HEGERBERG: Hege Riise’s victory Hegerberg has great respect in the English group. Photo: CRAIG BROUGH / Reuters – Greater effect than one thought news’s football expert Carl-Erik Torp is surprised by the impact Hegerberg has had on the Norwegian national team. – She has had a greater effect on the team than we thought in advance. She has impressed me, and we have gained a new dimension in the team, says Torp. Hegerberg’s presence may be good news when Norway meets the host nation England. – Maybe England have to hold back a bit, because they know we have Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten. Maybe we get a lighter match picture, get more into the match and can control the match ourselves. We can have the ball more, because they have to take care, Torp thinks. Riise has led the English national team, and knows how much respect she has in the group. – Of course, all nations pay attention to class players. Hegerberg with Graham Hansen and Reiten, then you have a trio you have to take care of, says the J19 national team manager. READY: Ada Hegerberg is getting ready for the European Championships and the opening match against Northern Ireland – a match where Norway are big favorites. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Believes in the semifinals with Hegerberg Torp believes that Hegerberg will play a big difference both offensively and defensively, in addition to the fact that she is of course a world-class goal scorer. He agrees with Sjögren that she also contributes with things one does not like to see. – She gives Norway a completely different respect, and the opponents must take a completely different view than without Ada Hegerberg. There is a big difference Norway must take advantage of. Opponents must change tactics and take defensive care because they have so much respect for Ada, he says. OPTIMISTIC: Carl-Erik Torp thinks Hegerberg can take Norway to new heights. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Do you think she creates a form of fear in the opponent? – Yes, they undoubtedly have great respect for her and are afraid that she will show her goal-scoring skills. At the same time, she also increases her self-confidence in the Norwegian team. They have to pay more attention, while the Norwegian players get even more faith in what they themselves have to do. Torp believes the Hegerberg effect can take the team to new heights in the championship. – I think she is the one who can make it so that we go far, together with other players. We have had a completely different faith since she returned. There will be more close and even matches, and then we need goal scorers to decide. It may happen that she sends us on to a possible semifinal, he says.
ttn-69
– Bigger than we thought in advance – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
