Norway women’s football, which is currently having internal issues, will be a dangerous opponent for the Filipinas in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Sunday at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
According to Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic, he expects Norway to be fighting with pride to stay alive in the knockout rounds after their underwhelming start in the competition.
“I’m wary of the wounded animal. They (Norway) have taken a hit to their pride, and I expect them to come out fighting. They are (former World Cup) champions for a reason. They have a fightback in them, so we have to be ready for that,” Stajcic said.
Earlier tipped as group favorites, the celebrated Grasshoppers are in last place with just one point following their 0-1 setback to the New Zealand Ferns last week and a scoreless standoff against Switzerland in Hamilton last Tuesday.
In contrast, the Filipinas are running third with three points following their 1-0 upset of the Ferns in Wellington, and they are aware that a second straight win guarantees them a place in the knockout round of 16.
“They are former World Cup winners (in 1995), they are former Olympic gold medalists, and the pedigree within the country and women’s football is enormous,” Stajcic said, referring to Norway.
“You have a Ballon d’Or winner in Ada Hegerberg; they have players playing at the highest level at Barcelona who are probably their best players. They may be ranked No. 12 now, but they have been in the top 10 for the past 20 to 30 years. They are fantastic,” he added.
Stajcic also noted that he expects Hegerberg to be back from injury in the must-win game “because she’s a champion and she has earned the right to be a champion. You don’t get to be a Player of the Year Award unless you are an amazing footballer.”
“We have an immense amount of respect for her and the team. It’s going to be a big challenge,” the Australian head coach further said.
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