Women’s World Cup 2023 team guides part two: Norway
This article is part of the Guardian’s Women’s World Cup 2023 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 32 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 20 July.
OverviewNorway have gone through a big transition since last year’s Euros, where they crashed out of the group stage and suffered a humiliating 8-0 defeat against England. Out went the coach, Martin Sjögren, and his aim to dominate play with a 4-4-2 formation. In came Hege Riise and a more cynical approach, where defensive stability is the key to success in a 4-3-3 or 5-4-1.
“We have to acknowledge where we stand at the moment and work from that,” Riise said upon being appointed in August. She did not have the best of starts, it is fair to say. The day after her first squad selection, Barcelona’s Caroline Graham Hansen announced she would take a break from international duty due to fatigue. Just weeks later another of the team’s superstars, Ada Hegerberg, got injured for seven months. The captain, Maren Mjelde, and Barça’s Ingrid Syrstad Engen have also been out for spells, but all four are back for the World Cup.
Despite their absences, Riise’s “new Norway” produced some good performances in friendlies against strong teams such as the Netherlands, France, England and Sweden. By that time they had already secured qualification for the World Cup, topping Group F thanks to a 1-0 win against Belgium in September last year.
Riise has clearly got them playing the way she wants, as the midfielder Guro Reiten told TV 2 Norway after the 0-0 draw against France in February: “We’re difficult and annoying to play against – just like we want to
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