In Norway’s Euro 2022 opener against Northern Ireland, Kenny Shiels’ side learned the hard way that Ada Hegerberg offers so much more than goals. It now falls to England to contain a striker who is likely to prove one of the stars of the tournament.
As well as assisting Frida Maanum’s goal in that 4-1 win last Thursday, Hegerberg covered nearly 10km in distance, produced four key passes, made two ball recoveries and had four shots of her own (statistics via Infogol).
The Lyon forward did everything but score, denied by a brilliant clearance from Linfield’s Abbie Magee. Yet Sarina Wiegman will be left in no doubt as to the threat she poses – and all the more so at a time when all eyes will be on England’s centre-back pairing – whether it is Millie Bright and Leah Williamson, or Bright and Alex Greenwood.
The Lionesses have to get this one right. Hegerberg, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, has 42 goals in 71 international caps to add to her remarkable record in the Champions League (59 goals in 60 games).
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“I think she’s a mentality monster, that would be the best description of Ada,” England defender Lucy Bronze said.
“She does anything to win – it can be difficult if she ever loses anything because she takes it to heart. She’s one of those players who you just love playing with: a big game player who will drag a team through anything, a player who I loved playing with [during Bronze’s three years as her team-mate at Lyon] because you get the ball in the box and she’s going to find a way to score.”
The numbers would be even more eye-watering had Hegerberg, who is still just 26, not just returned from a five-year absence from the national team, a decision she took after coming to the “deeply depressing” conclusion that the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) did not value the women’s side.
Her statement was met with some resistance. Despite saying in an interview with two Norwegian publications that she had been suffering from “nightmares” after games, Norway men’s midfielder Martin Odegaard (then with Real Madrid) told her to “find something better to do than to disturb the preparations of the national team for the World Cup”.
Since then, however, the NFF has appointed its first woman president – Lise Klaveness – and its female players have achieved equal pay, which meant a doubling in their salaries.
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She was initially reluctant to return despite the huge strides women’s football had made in her homeland – and then came the injuries. From a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to a broken left tibia that required surgery, much of her rehabilitation work took place amidst the added pressure of Covid lockdowns.
That makes it all the more noteworthy that, even if it were not for the absence of Alexia Putellas, Hegerberg would arguably still be the most instantly recognisable player at this summer’s Euros.
England will also have to contain Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen and Chelsea’s Guro Reiten, while winning the midfield battle with Manchester City’s Julie Blakstad. The danger, though, is that Hegerberg is more than capable of attacking them on multiple fronts.
“The difference with Ada as a number nine is that she’ll score a goal but equally she’ll get back and she’ll slide tackle or push someone off the ball to win the ball back,” Bronze adds. “Because she’s just desperate to win games and has that crazy mentality which you don’t always see too often.”
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