A mysterious injury, two substitutions as punishment, a crossover of accusations, forced pardons… the start of the Norwegian team in this World Cup does not look good. After the surprising defeat (1-0) against New Zealand in the opening game, the blaugrana Ingrid Engen and Caroline Graham Hansen were critical of the approach of the coach Hege Riise. “The attack was very high and the defense very low. I felt alone”, lamented the Norwegian midfielder.
The following day, Graham Hansen did not train with the group due to “a sore throat” and the country’s press began to collect rumors of his possible substitution against Switzerland. That’s how it was, both the winger and Ingrid Engen were relegated to the bench in the second game of the group stage. Riise’s message came through loud and clear. He not only lost two of his best footballers, he also did not jump onto the pitch Ada Hegerberg. The forward of Olympique de Lyon left the field after playing the anthem before the astonished look of her teammates. Later they would explain that the player had noticed discomfort in her leg in the last sprint and that they preferred not to risk it. A more than suspicious injury that left Norway in the draw against a combative Switzerland that ended in a 0-0 draw, leaving the team on the brink of elimination.
After the game Graham Hansen made an incendiary statement on Norwegian television in which he claimed to have felt “trampled on”. “Nothing in life is free, but I thought I had earned enough respect in the last year. It hasn’t been like that. It’s hard, I don’t know what to say. There is not much I can say, I feel like my hands are tied, ”he said. His words went around the world and the next day, early in the morning, the Barça winger appeared before the press accompanied by Riise.
With a contorted face and completely dejected, she read a statement asking for forgiveness: “I am a human being with feelings. I tried to keep my emotions at bay, but there have been difficult days and they have gotten the better of me, ”she confessed to herself. “I want to apologize to my teammates, coaches and my country for taking the focus off what really matters, the World Cup,” she added.
Graham Hansen acknowledged that she was disappointed not to start against Switzerland: “I’m fit and I showed that I could contribute a lot against Switzerland. I still strongly disagree with Hege’s decision and should be allowed to, but the coach should be respected. She is the one who decides.”
The blaugrana also referred to an unresolved wound from the past: “When I spoke about how I felt during the year, I was referring to when they took away my captaincy. It was one of the first things Hege did and I didn’t agree, but yesterday it wasn’t relevant and I shouldn’t have referred to it, so I apologize.” “I will do my best to help Norway further and I apologize again for letting my emotions get the better of me,” she concluded. Later, her partner Guro Reiten would explain that Graham Hansen herself had sent a message to the entire team asking for forgiveness for her words.
Norway is playing the pass to the round of 16 on Sunday against the Philippines and only one win is worth it to avoid repeating a new fiasco in a major tournament, but with such a rarefied environment it seems difficult that the results can arrive. Norway is a real powder keg. The cracked locker room, the coach questioned and on the verge of a new embarrassment. A situation that seems a deja-vu. And it is that the history of this selection and its stars has not been a fairy tale for years.
The first Ballon d’Or winner, Ada Hegerberg, resigned from the national team in 2017, after a disastrous Euro Cup from which she was knocked out in the group stage without winning any game. She led a fight to achieve improvements for the women’s team and got the Federation to equalize salaries, becoming the first country to agree to equal pay. Despite the fact that this milestone was achieved in October of that same year, the Lyon striker did not want to return for the 2019 World Cup, claiming that there were still improvements to implement. She would return in time for the European Championship last summer, where Norway suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in its history when beaten by England (8-0) in the group stage.
After a new failure, it was Graham Hansen who announced his provisional withdrawal from the team. He said he felt exhausted and referred to the heart problems that he had suffered the previous year. He was away from August to March of this year.
It was not the only consequence of that embarrassing defeat. Martin Sjögren was sacked as manager after six years in charge and Hege Riise, a Norwegian football legend, was appointed as his replacement. World Champion (1995), European Champion (1993) and Olympic gold (Athens 2000), no one has yet managed to exceed 188 international caps for Norway. Her arrival on the bench has not managed to appease the spirits of a dressing room that shows signs of being completely broken.
