– We are very happy with the draw. It is a possible group to win, national team manager Hege Riise told NRK.

– I think that’s a very good draw. Now we have a very good chance in WC, national team player Anna Jøsendal told NRK.

Norway is seeded in group two and is guaranteed to face one of the host nations Australia or New Zealand or one of the bigger nations.

It was New Zealand and Norway so it lost teams like the US, England, Germany, France and Sweden. This is the fourth straight championship in which Norway has ended in the host country group.

– They almost never beat Norway

Therefore, the Norwegian team will be out in the opening match to be played in Auckland on 20 July.

– It will be a lot of fun and a big challenge. Playing New Zealand in the opening game means beating a little from the bottom. They have all the pressure and we are looking forward to it, said Riise.

– This will be really cool. With women’s football on the rise in recent years, I thought it could be a cool game, and I’m looking forward to full force in the stands, said national team player Mathilde Harviken.

– The fact that Norway played their opener is a great opportunity to show what they’ve got and you really have to take this opportunity to show off, says NRK football commentator Christian Nilssen.

Norway ended in group A with New Zealand, Switzerland and the Philippines.

Switzerland is ranked number 21 in the FIFA rankings, New Zealand number 22 and the Philippines number 53. That makes Norway the clear favorite in the group with 12th place.

– The most important thing is to avoid one of the best teams in the world, because they almost never beat Norway.

– Here only Norway hopes to be in the center of attention of world football, says football commentator NRK.

It will fail if Norway does not continue

Nillsen believes it could be considered a failure if Norway does not advance to the round of 16 after the group draw is complete.

Riise burst out laughing.

– I think that’s the journalistic aspect. If you look at the different groups, there are big differences. “We might have had a slightly more balanced group, but we have to go from there,” Riise replied.

Hege Riise’s team might be drawn to fight back after the European Championship which ended in failure with an 8-0 loss against England as a highlight in a negative sense.

Since then, Norway has changed the national team manager from Martin Sjögren to Hege Riise. The new national team manager has won three of his first four games.

The previous match against the Netherlands, which Norway won 2-0 away, gave hope for next year’s championship.

– Now we’ve been challenging ourselves with good opposition basically all autumn. “It’s part of a strategy to build confidence with good performances also against those ranked higher than us,” said the national team manager.

– I think the goal of a country like Norway should always be to qualify from the group stage. I don’t think we should have higher expectations. As soon as you get into the last 16, opponents start to get tough, said Nilssen.

These are all WC groups:

Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Philippines.

Group B: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Nigeria.

Group C: Spain, Japan, Costa Rica, Zambia.

Group D: England, China, Denmark, Group B playoff winners.

Group E: USA, Netherlands, Vietnam, winner of group A playoff.

Group F: France, Brazil, Jamaica, Group C playoff winners.

Group G: Sweden, Italy, Argentina, South Africa.

Group H: Germany, South Korea, Colombia, Morocco.

Playoff A: Cameroon, Thailand or Portugal.

Playoff B: Senegal, Haiti or Chile.

Playoff C: Taiwan, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea or Panama.