Attack is Norway’s best medicine in World Cup, says coach Hege Riise
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Ada Hegerberg (left), fighting for the ball against New Zealand's midfielder Katie Bowen, struggled in Norway's opening loss against the co-hosts at Eden Park.
PHOTO: AFP
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HAMILTON – Norway must attack Switzerland and seize the initiative if they are to claim their first victory at the Women’s World Cup, after failing to live up to their potential in a shock loss to New Zealand, coach Hege Riise said on Monday.
New Zealand upset Norway in the tournament opener,
The defeat left the Scandinavian side third in Group A and Riise promised that Switzerland would face a “different Norway” on Tuesday compared with the disjointed team in the opener.
“We know Switzerland will be a tough game for us. Our focus is to give a better performance and realise our actual potential, which we didn’t show last time,” said Riise.
“Attack is our best medicine. Switzerland may not be a team that frighten many others, but they have good players with individual qualities.
“We became a bit static (against New Zealand). We have talked about this, we’ve looked at footage and we also worked to deal with this during practice. So you will see a more collective Norway tomorrow.”
Norway’s Ada Hegerberg is a dangerous striker with when she plays for Lyon, but she has not scored in a major international tournament since 2015, partly due to her self-imposed five-year exile from the national team.
The inaugural Ballon d’Or winner has won eight league titles and six Champions League trophies, saying she still puts “a lot of pressure” on herself to perform for her country.
“It gets very serious in times like these and I think at some point we’ve got to lower the pressure a little bit, try to enjoy football because I know we can perform at a good level,” Hegerberg said.
“We’ve got the quality to perform, so sometimes you’ve got to take it down a bit and try to be sound technically and rely on our strengths.”
Riise also said Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen is fit and available after a bout of illness.
Meanwhile, ahead of another Tuesday fixture, South Korea coach Colin Bell was desperate to protect 16-year-old United States-born attacker Casey Phair from “hype” ahead of her potential debut at the Women’s World Cup against Colombia.
Bell called up the rookie for his squad for Australia and New Zealand, in a move that made headlines in the US, South Korea and beyond.
“She did very well when she came in training with two other young players that we had,” the 61-year-old said, when asked what role Phair could play at the tournament.
“So now she’s in the squad, then we just take it day by day, so I don’t really want to hype up a young player too much before she’s even played. That’s why I’ve been safeguarding her from the media.”
Asked again about Phair, who has an American father and Korean mother and is the first player of mixed descent to make the senior South Korean women’s football squad, Bell replied: “Like I say, we’ll see. I am here to talk about the match tomorrow.”
She was previously involved with youth squads for the US national team.
Bell may be desperate to shelter her, but speaking earlier in July, Phair shared her excitement at playing at the World Cup.
“I feel really proud and honoured to be given this opportunity,” she said at South Korea’s national football centre, according to Yonhap news agency. “I’m ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help the country.”
REUTERS, AFP
