Norway became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals of UEFA EURO ‘25, defeating an impressive Finland side, who were dominant for long periods of the match. Despite having less of the ball and fewer opportunities than their opponents in both matches, Norway have somehow managed 2 wis, and are guaranteed to finish top of Group A due to head-to-head record.
Despite an array of attacking talent, Norway’s top goalscorer so far at the tournament is ‘Own Goals’, benefitting from their 2nd in 2 matches in just the 3rd minute. Excellent work by Graham Hansen on the right wing, standing her defender up, before bursting past to the byline, and firing a low cross into the 6-yard box, where defender Nyström could only divert into her own net. It was very similar to the own goal in their first match (though on the other flank, through Reitan), and there may me more to come. With the pace and ability of Hansen and Reitan on either flank, and the presence of Hegerberg in the middle, defenders will inevitably be stretched, and that’s when mistakes happen.
Excellent Finnish
Norway enjoyed the better of the opening half hour, forcing goalkeeper Koivunen into palming a corner onto the post, before Hegerberg had an attempt from 12 yards brilliantly blocked by Kuikka. Just a couple of minutes after that, Finland successfully pressed Norway in their own half, winning the ball high. With Norway scrambling back into position, Oona Siren threaded a ball through to Sevenius, who took a touch into the area, before curling a pinpoint strike into the top- corner of goal. Suddenly, Finland had all of the momentum, and forced Norway into defending for the rest of the half, but couldn’t create another opportunity before the break.
Hansen’s Fortune
After the break, Finland dominated possession, keeping Norway under pressure for prolonged periods of the half, but they were always dangerous on the counter, particularly down their right flank through Graham Hansen. In the 80th minute, Norway successfully pressed a Finland goal kick, with the ball coming right to Hansen, Standing her marker up, she sprinted round the outside of her to the byline, before crossing into the middle, where Guro Reitan’s acrobatic overhead kick from 10 yards was superbly tipped over by the ‘keeper. Moments later, after a corner wasn’t cleared, Norway worked the ball down the left, and Reitan’s low cross came to an unmarked Hansen on the penalty spot. She had time to take a touch, set herself, but managed to blast the ball high over the bar. If she was cursing her luck, she’d be thanking it shortly. Only a couple of
Norway Finland Possession 41.7% 58.3% Shots 9 15 Shots on target 3 6 Expected Goals 0.84 1.11
minutes later, Hansen managed to dribble past 2 defenders in a tight space down the right flank, but was held up by a third. With the the chance to cross seemingly gone, she went around the outside (again), clipped a cross towards the back post, where it floated over the goalkeeper, clipped the inside of the post, and went in. Entirely unintentional, but probably earned, as she’d been a nightmare for Finland for much of the match.
Norway win Group A with a game to spare, and will almost certainly avoid facing world champions Spain in the quarter-finals. Regardless of who they face, they’re going to have to improve, as they’ve been underwhelming in both matches so far, despite the victories. Finland know what they need to do: win their final match vs Switzerland, and progress to the knockouts for the first time since 2009.
Qualification for the next round remains in Switzerland’s hands, after an excellent win vs Iceland, who become the first team to be eliminated from EURO ’25. 2 second-half goals, in front of nearly 30,000 fans, ensured the host nation remain on track to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time.
Half of set-pieces
With neither team wanting to take many risks, the 1st-half was a tense affair, broken up by numerous set-pieces for both sides. Iceland almost took the lead in the 10th minute, following the first of many Jónsdóttir long-throws. The initial header away was weak, falling to defender Sigurðardóttir 10 yards out, but her looping volley hit the crossbar. Switzerland thought they’d opened the scoring in the 29th minute, after Vallotto’s corner was headed in by Fölmli, via a deflection off of Viggósdóttir’s head. VAR called the referee to the monitor, where she decided that Vilhjálmsdóttir, the player marking Fölmli, had been illegally blocked in the build-up to the goal, and the goal was ruled out.
Reuteler Again
Swiss midfielder Reuteler was involved in everything in the previous match, hitting the bar, conceding the penalty, and missing a late chance to equalise. Today was similar, and she got the crucial opening goal in the 76th minute. After Iceland played out from a goal kick, Arsenal’s Wälti quickly won possession in the centre-circle, playing a fast pass into the feet of Schertenleib, who played it into the path of Reuteler. Her first touch took her into the penalty area, the second fired the ball just inside the post, prompting wild celebrations from the Swiss players and fans.
Lucky Pilgrim
With time running out for Iceland, they increasingly threw caution to the wind (quite literally; there were a lot of long-throws), but left themselves vulnerable to a Swiss counter-attack. In the 90th
Minute, the another long-throw was headed away, before Reuteler played it forward to Wandeler on the halfway line. Pausing to allow support, she switched the ball left, into the path of Pilgrim. With Iceland’s defence sprinting back, she cut inside, shot from 20 yards out, and a deflection took it into the bottom-left corner of goal. Iceland players collapsed on the floor; Switzerland players were jumping for joy.
Norway win Group A, due to having a better head-to-head record against both teams on 3 points. Their final match vs Iceland will be a dead-rubber, though the Icelandics will want to end on a high, particularly as they haven’t actually scored yet. If Switzerland draw or win their last match vs Finland, they’ll join Norway in the quarter-finals. Finland know they have to beat Switzerland to do the same.
