After only three seconds came a warning that it would be another tough match for Norway. Sophie Román Haug had to leave with two fractures to her face after a headbutt against Portugal last month and three seconds into Friday’s match she got the ball right in her face. It didn’t go much better for captain Maren Mjelde halfway through the first half. France easily got into the 16-metre area and in an attempt to avert a great French chance, Mjelde put the ball into his own net. – I think there was a phase where the Norwegian players went back a little more to old sins. They seemed more and more stressed. Running around without being quite in place, said news’s expert commentator Carl-Erik Torp about the score. In the studio broadcast during the break, he continued: – I get a bit of pain from them, because it is a team where you see that there are players who have a lot of bad experiences behind them. They collectively have low self-esteem. – How do you see it? – You see it in situations. You see that they think before they act. You see that they look around a bit and see if there are others who are going to do it, or if I am going to do it. When you first choose to take that action, take that step forward, it is of course too late against a team as good as France, said Torp. After the match, which eventually ended 2-1 to France, national team manager Leif Gunnar Smerud was asked about Torp’s quotes: – That is where we are then. There have been some bad experiences. That’s why I think the performance is pretty good after all, because we play on that confidence and get into the game and let it live. We have to work our way out of this. There is no quick way and there are very good teams we meet, says the national team coach. OWN GOAL: Maren Mjelde (number 6) put the ball into his own net in the first half. Photo: Frederik Ringnes / NTB Löfwenius cried before his debut Torp and expert colleagues Andrine Stolsmo Hegerberg and Elise Thorsnes were at the same time clear that there were bright spots in the Norwegian team’s game. A Norwegian team that had to manage without big stars such as Ada Stolsmo Hegerberg, Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten. This gave several others the opportunity. Among them Mimmi Löfwenius. Löfwenius was first cleared to play for Norway on Wednesday. The 29-year-old was born and raised in Sweden and has played age-specific international matches for Sweden, but in 2021 applied for Norwegian citizenship after having played football in the Toppserien since 2014. Löfwenius was put straight into the Norwegian team and cried when “Yes, we love’ was played before the match. Mimmi Löfwenius in tears before her debut for Norway during the Norwegian national anthem. And a bright spot came a quarter of an hour into the second half. Löfwenius got around the edge and hit a cross into the box. In the end, Marit Bratberg Lund fought the ball over the goal line to make it 1–1. However, France quickly struck back. Wendie Renard headed in France’s second goal nine minutes later, a goal that was also the last of the match. That despite the fact that France had a number of great chances on the brink. Olympic hopes almost gone After only one point in the first two games in the National League, the Norwegian team needed a boost at home against France on Friday evening. In order to have an opportunity to make it to next year’s Olympics, Norway is dependent on winning the group. They will then reach the play-offs with the group winners from the other three groups, where Olympic places will be awarded to the two teams that reach the final. But after another loss at home against France, Norway’s Olympic hopes are almost over. With three games left in the group, Norway is eight points behind France and thus needs a small miracle. Norway must also increase their points collection if they are to avoid relegation in the National League. Earlier on Friday, Austria won 2–1 at home against Portugal, which means that Austria and Portugal are respectively three and two points ahead of Norway. On Tuesday, Norway will play away against France, while Portugal will then play at home against Austria. PS! France is already qualified for the Olympics as host nation. Should they make it to the finals in the Nations League, the team that finishes third in the play-offs in the Nations League will also capture an Olympic place.
ttn-69
– I get a little pain from them – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
