A 0-1 loss may not sound so brutal. But behind that hides statistics far more disturbing than the results themselves.

The Norwegian players struggled to find each other, which resulted in a number that no previous NRK football pundit could remember.

– We had a higher passing percentage against England last year in the European Commission when we lost 8-0. That’s quite a lot, says Carl Erik Torp.

Very low

For context: Norway usually has a hit percentage of around 70. And in their crushing loss to England on EC, it was 73 percent.

Their passing percentage – that is the proportion they hit each other with a pass – against New Zealand in their World Cup opener was 59.55.

– What do you think of that number?

– That says a lot about its performance, individually. It’s very low, very low. I barely remember that Norway had under 70 percent passing accuracy, said Torp.

– That says quite a bit about how much sloppiness there was in the match here. And then compounded by the results of the game and the premise of the players. They were in a difficult situation where they couldn’t have much of the ball.

– Not surprised

Ingrid Syrstad Engen played centrally in midfield in the shock defeat against New Zealand. When he heard the number at the press conference the day after the game, he nodded.

– That’s exactly how it feels out there. I’m not surprised that we have that number. Too bad. That’s where I also sense the problem lies. “We didn’t find each other, we didn’t hit each other and then it became very difficult, when we have the opportunity to win the ball and trap someone and then immediately lose it,” he said.

When compared to the crushing game against England last year, he still shows the difference.

– I didn’t have the same feeling that we might lose and struggled a lot in the defensive structure, but it was more on the ball that I was disappointed that we couldn’t use it better. When we never managed to keep the ball, there were bad feelings out there too.

It must be said that in the England match, Norway had less possession of the ball. At that time, Norway made 298 bait attempts. Against New Zealand, the corresponding figure is 349.

The national team manager did not seem surprised by the figure presented by NRK.

– It shows that we are stressed. That we weren’t comfortable enough on the ball and didn’t read each other like we used to. We have good footballers, who hesitate. Hence a bit of rhythm in our game and all 50-50 situation then went to New Zealand, said Hege Riise.

Nervous

For championship debutant Mathilde Harviken, it may not have been her dream debut, and she says her forethought may have had something to do with her numbers.

– So I can say for my own part that I was very determined to make it easy before the game, so it turned out I… I don’t know how many throws I threw yesterday, but it became clearer than trying to find a teammate when I was a little unsure, said Harviken.

– Why did it happen like that?

– I was a little nervous and that’s what I thought a little more, that I should keep it simple. Don’t take too many risks during the game lest it be too easy for New Zealand.

PS. Norway plays their next World Cup match against Switzerland on Tuesday 25 July at 10.00.