Hegerberg Recovering Well Ahead Of Clash With Japan, But Riise Says Norway Have Options In Attack

Ahead of Norway’s last-16 clash with Japan at the Women’s World Cup, head coach Hege Riise said there are positive signs about striker Ada Hegerberg’s recovery from a groin injury but added she also has other options in attack.

Hegerberg, the recipient of the inaugural Ballon d’Or, was withdrawn late in their goalless draw with Switzerland before she missed their 6-0 thrashing of the Philippines in the final group game.

When asked if Hegerberg would be selected ahead of Sophie Roman Haug, who scored a hat-trick against the Philippines, Riise was not so forthcoming.

“Ever since Ada’s injury, she has been following the medical plan and has been successful in every step of that plan,” Riise told reporters on Friday. “So we will see her in training and how she reacts to that, like in the last step before the game tomorrow.

“The goal is to get her ready for the match and then we will have to see how ready she will be, whether she can play 90 minutes or shorter. We know we have two good no. 9 target forwards and that’s a luxury for me as a coach. We’ll see who will be available and playing from the start tomorrow.”

After a chaotic group phase, where Norway finished second in Group A behind table toppers Switzerland, the former champions now face the daunting challenge of playing against Japan, who have been the most impressive and organized side in the World Cup so far.

Japan are the only side along with England and Sweden to win all their three group games and the Nadeshiko achieved that in style too – scoring a whopping 11 goals while conceding none.

Japan relied on ball possession in their opening two victories, against Zambia and Costa Rica, but defeated Spain with a counter-attacking approach.

Asked about how they expect Japan to turn up in Saturday’s match in Wellington, Riise said: “Obviously against Spain, they were counter-attacking. Our guess is that they will play a little bit higher against us. Maybe the picture will be similar, but opposite.

“We will prepare to play defensive and play strong in our defense. Play to our strengths. Hopefully, we will get the result that we want.”

Speaking to FIFA, Riise further explained how Norway would contain Japan – by using the same tactics the Asians deployed against Spain.

“Try not to have the ball too much, be quick with our passes and get chances to score,” Riise said. “We know we can expect a very good Japanese team with good technical players. They’re good at passing the ball but sometimes they also play more direct than they have in the past.

“We have a picture of the game in our minds. We know we’ll need to play tighter to give them less room to play, but that we also need to turn it on when we have possession. We’ve worked hard on that in training. It’s one thing having a game plan though, and another thing executing it when you’re out on the pitch.”

Midfielder Frida Maanum said Norway are confident of winning against Japan, who won the tournament in 2011 by beating the United States on penalties.

“It’s a tough task but our defense is solid and we counter-attack well. We’re totally prepared for whatever they throw at us,” Maanum said.

“Many people might not believe in us, but it’s fun to be the underdogs sometimes. We feel good with that status and, as we’ve seen here, anything can happen at a World Cup.”