MY ACCOUNT
England and Norway meet in a heavyweight Women’s Euro 2022 clash at the Amex Stadium as the pair wrestle for control of Group A.
Both nations come into the encounter off the back of victories in their opening games with England beating Austria 1-0 and Norway thumping Northern Ireland 4-1.
The Scandinavians were the victors when these two last met, claiming a 2-1 win over the Lionesses in a friendly in 2019, but the hosts will be hoping to reverse their fortunes this time.
LiveScore takes a look at five key talking points ahead of the group stage match in Brighton.
History and form
While they lost the last friendly meeting, England have enjoyed more success against Norway in competitive games, knocking them out of the last two World Cups.
But the Lionesses have never won a major tournament. The Grasshoppers, meanwhile, are two-time European champions, have won a World Cup and were also gold medallists at the 2000 Olympics.
They did not display that pedigree at the last Euros, failing to score or register a point in the group stages.
England have also not lost a competitive match at home since 2005 — a run totalling 35 games — and are in fantastic form, coming into this clash on a 15-game unbeaten streak.
Bronze bolts
One England player who will be relishing the prospect of facing Norway is Lucy Bronze.
The full-back has scored two of her three World Cup goals against the Grasshoppers, netting against them from distance in 2015 and 2019.
She was a regular threat in the first game against Austria, bombing forward down the right to offer her side an outlet and will hope to play a significant part in overcoming the Norwegians, whether or not she ends up on the scoresheet.
Lauding Lauren
Lauren Hemp will be more concerned with getting her name on the scoresheet than Bronze, however.
The Manchester City winger was a bright spark against Austria, troubling goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger with two of her four shots.
City’s 21-goal top scorer last season came into the tournament in impressive form.
Hemp netted seven times in her last nine games across all competitions at club level and will be hoping to carry that form on to the international stage.
What to do with Williamson
Sarina Wiegman’s Leah Williamson conundrum looks far from being resolved after the Lionesses’ opener.
There has been much debate regarding the England captain’s best role in the team and Wiegman opted to deploy her at centre-back rather than in midfield against Austria.
The team may have claimed victory and kept a clean sheet but they missed her line-breaking passes from midfield.
The Arsenal star could be pushed into the centre of the park against a strong opponent as the hosts look to control the game more this time around.
Hazardous Hegerberg
Control may be important for England as they look to starve superstar forward Ada Hegerberg of service in Brighton.
The all-time Champions League top scorer is representing her country once more after nearly five years away following a dispute with her nation’s football federation.
Though the Lionesses will have to find a way to stop her, Wiegman is pleased the Lyon forward is back.
She said: “We’ve analysed them of course. They have a good team, and they have Hegerberg back.
“Having a personality and a player like that on big stages is very good, and good for the women’s game. You want the best players on the biggest stages.
“We also think they have some weaknesses, and we hope to exploit that.”
With Hegerberg spearheading the Norwegian attack, the Lionesses will be less confident of keeping back-to-back clean sheets to start their tournament.
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