Norway’s three hard earned marks, from a couple of fines, were verified by the 1995, the highest of the Republic of Korea results for France 2019, to be the knock-out stages for 1995 Women’s World Cup champions. However, it would eventually prove to be the ultimate match of the Asian outfit at the event, which was at least limited in this version of the worldwide championships by a smart Yeo Minji attempt. Norway’s next target? Saturday’s nice. Nice.

“In the first match against France we were under great pressure. While we were preparing for the World Cup we’ve prepared very well. And the fact that we were able to play in front of such a big crowd was a very meaningful experience but it would have been a burden on our players. In the second match, our players have put in a great performance, they have shown they have improved. In the third match we know the result wasn’t as good as we wanted but our players have done very well. These kind of improvements should be made continuously.”
Yoon Dukyeo, Korea Republic coach

Perhaps Norway isn’t at its finest tonight but they have the victory they won in the last 16 and they will worry. They had to operate hard without the ball and that knowledge will help them in the knockout phases.

“I’m very satisfied that we’ll continue [in the competition] and we’ve played a good match. We had a very tough group and the match for us today was very hard for us. Both halves started quite well, but the other side are very good at passing and I think that it was quite hard for the players – but we did win after all, even though it didn’t go exactly according to plan. We’re looking forward to having another match.”
Martin Sjogren, Norway coach

Korea’s first objective for Yeo Minji’s competition was to prove too early, too small, for the Taegeuk Nangja, following an excellent back heel from Lee Geummin. However, their Red Devils never offer up their assistance, the drum beats and singing from an angle. After its ultimate performances at Group A, the squad goes back with no goal, but with pride.

What else can you tell about Hjelmseth Ingrid? The Norwegian player spends most of her moment so simple playing, but she draws a world-class except for the top drawer every now and then to remind us of how shiny she really is. Hjelmseth was 39 years old in April, having two fantastic understudies in Cecilie Fiske Beach (Fiskestrand) and Oda Maria Bogstad (Bogstad).

Image: Kane Oosty/FIFA