Norway with new faith after the big games – many have shown up for Riise – Dagsavisen
The women’s national team’s six matches with Riise at the helm have resulted in three wins, two losses and one draw. On Tuesday, her team fought back to draw 1-1 with one less player on the pitch against reigning European champions England.
In total, Riise has had 38 players in the various squads. 28 of them have been given playing time.
Six players have also received their first national team minutes: Emilie Marie Joramo, Marit Bratberg Lund, Mathilde Harviken, Sunniva Skoglund, Sara Hørte and Thea Bjelde.
– We have been able to set a lot of people. It is a gain to come and show yourself. If you haven’t been allowed to play, you have come to training and shown yourself. We have covered a lot, says Riise to NTB.
[ Slo tilbake etter utvisning – Maanum sikret uavgjort mot England etter keepertabbe ]
– Although where do we start
The last two games during the training camp in Spain have ended with a 1-2 loss for France and a 1-1 against England. Anja Sønstevold, who was sent off against England, praises Riise’s entry.
– We have realized where we have to start. We have a proud tradition of being a tough team defensively. We must not concede goals, and we must be tough to play against. We have started somewhat from “scratch” and started where it is important, says Sønstevold to NTB.
Against France and England, Norway has been in a 5-4-1 formation in defence. The central midfielder has been the one to fall down. Against France it was Sønstevold, while Ingrid Syrstad Engen had the task against England.
[ Sønstevold: – Glemte at jeg hadde fått gult kort ]
WC
In the summer, there are World Cups in Australia and New Zealand. Against England, Riise was satisfied with the defensive performance, which will also be one of the biggest challenges going forward:
– That we should always have this at the bottom. We face varied opposition, so we are not always in a top five or four. Against France, we also solved the problem of being 4-3-3 offensively. Now we have played less on that and more on the defensive game due to opposition, says Riise.
– We have clear pictures offensively of how we want to play. We bring that up again when the opposition tells us to play more of the game, she adds.
Sønstevold believes that Norway has some work to do in front of the goal as one of the biggest challenges.
– It is to recreate it and take further steps. In the last two games, we have improved offensively as well. Then it’s just a matter of taking care of the opportunities even a little better, says the Inter player.
[ United-stjernen vurderer klubbskifte: – Kan være aktuelt ]
– That is the key
Against England, very little was allowed in the first half apart from the goal. In the second half it became more hectic at times, but Norway still had good defensive control. It was worse for the Norwegian players to take care of the ball after it had been won.
– That is the key. Meeting the best gives pace to the game which we seek to increase the quality of our own game. Hence also the passing game and the counter-attacking game, says Riise.
Barcelona star Engen believes the offensive will be the biggest challenge going forward.
– It is tiring if you lose the ball too quickly. We have to work on taking care of the ball a little more and be even sharper on counterattacks, she says.
[ Mål-Haug imponerer i Hegerbergs fravær: – Det gjelder å gripe sjansen ]