Norway’s football star Ada Hegerberg has returned to the big EM stage with a dominant opening win.
The favorite for the striker of the Champions League winner Olympique Lyon won against the tournament newcomer Northern Ireland on Thursday evening in Southampton with a deserved 4: 1 (3: 0). In Group A, the Scandinavians are well on course for the quarter-finals.
In front of 9,146 spectators at St. Mary’s Stadium, Norway quickly turned up the heat after a cheeky start from Northern Ireland. First Julie Blakstad (10th) scored from around 14 meters before Frida Maanum stole the ball from her opponent Chloe McCarron. Hegerberg found her pass and immediately put it back to Maanum (13′).
Before the break, former Wolfsburg player Caroline Hansen (31′) increased the penalty with a penalty after an unnecessary handball from Nadene Caldwell. In the second half Julie Nelson (49th) shortened with Northern Ireland’s acclaimed first European Championship goal, but Norway’s Guro Reit (54th) almost immediately restored the old distance with a direct free kick from around 20 meters.
The European champions from 1987 and 1993 want to make amends in England for their performance at the 2017 European Championship. At that time, the Norwegians failed miserably with three defeats and 0:4 goals in the group stage. Hegerberg had withdrawn from the national team for almost five years because of a dispute with the NFF association about the unfair treatment of women’s football. In addition, the 26-year-old was plagued at times by a serious knee injury.
In the second group game next Monday (9:00 p.m.) in Brighton, the Norwegians will face hosts England, who defeated Austria 1-0 on Wednesday. Three hours earlier, Northern Ireland meets the Alpenkickerinnen in Southampton.