Read Kieran Pender’s match report from Reims:
Let’s recap the rest of the day two action:
Full-time: Norway 3-0 Nigeria
That was relatively plain-sailing from start to finish. Norway take victory from their Group A opener, moving level on points with hosts France, who sit top of the pile having found a fourth against Korea. The goalscorers Utland and Reiten were very influential for the Norwegians, particularly in a first-half blitz which brought all three goals, while the Nigeria goalkeeper Oluehi had a torrid time.
90+2 min: Oshoala carves out another opening for Nigeria, surging down the right flank before checking in at the byline. But Norway stand firm, with Minde and Thorisdottir stepping in to clean up.
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90 min: There will be six added minutes. Reiten is withdrawn for Haavi, as Norway make their third and final change of the evening.
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89 min: Reiten runs into a Nigeria roadblock and requires a bit of treatment as a result. The time is ticking away. Norway are almost there.
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87 min: Graham hits it from 25 yards – but it is wayward.
85 min: Thorsnes makes a superb, strong challenge to steal back possession just inside the Norway half. That is the catalyst for a swift upfield move, with Norway earning a free-kick soon after. Reiten and Graham are stood over it ...
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83 min: Graham goes on a mazy run for Norway, bouncing off four or five Nigeria defenders before letting fly inside the box. It is a relatively tame strike but it is enough to cause problems for the unconvincing Oluehi, who spills the ball, allowing it to slip through her fingers. Fortunately for Nigeria, the ball drops to safety, the wrong side of the post as far as Norway are concerned.
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82 min: Thorsnes has her first sighting of goal – but the Norway substitute fails to trouble the Nigeria goalkeeper. It was a slick move upfield by the Scandinavians, with the ball being swept in from the right flank.
79 min: Norway make their first change. Elise Thorsnes, the striker, replaces Utland in a like-for-like swap. Utland, who opened the scoring, is all smiles, high-fiving each member of the bench as he trods along the dugout.
75 min: Terrific arcing ball over the top of the Norway defence by Chikwelu – but Kanu, the substitute, cannot latch on to it. It was a wondrous pass but, in the end, that was about it, with Hjelmseth storming out of goal to greet the Nigeria forward. Nice idea.
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72 min: Michael Essien, the former Ghana and Chelsea midfielder, is among those in the stands watching on. He is playing his football in Azerbaijan these days. There has not been too much to get excited about this second half. Norway are cruising.
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70 min: Ordega rounds Hjelmseth – but the striker cannot apply the finish! Another chance goes begging. Meanwhile Kanu is on for the captain Oparanozie.
68 min: Oshoala stabs an effort at goal! Norway got sloppy in defence and Ordega and co worked the ball in from the right. It bobbled into the path of Oshoala, who had a couple of red shirts for company, but managed to steer the ball goalwards. In the end it is fairly comfortable for Hjelmseth. But they were momentarily panicked. There was a whiff of complacency about that.
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65 min: Norway are hardly fluent and Nigeria continue to plug away at them. Ordega remains a livewire for the African side.
61 min: Engen is grounded after a thumping – but good-natured – challenge by Chikwelu on halfway. Another short stoppage in Reims. Norway have not upped the ante since the break, but then again they seem quite happy in first gear.
58 min: Chidinma Okeke, who starred for Nigeria in the Under-20 World Cup in France last year, raids down the left and draws the foul. Good play by the teenager. That will do her confidence the world of good. Nigeria end up winning another corner but Uchendu dragged wide from the edge of the box.
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55 min: Herlovsen shapes to shoot ... but Nigeria’s Ohale does superbly to get across and block. They eventually repel the resulting corner after dazzling footwork by the Norway No 10 Caroline Graham Hansen.
54 min: Oluehi punches the ball clear at the near post, with Herlovsen lurking. That stoppage appears to have further unsettled Nigeria.
52 min: Michael is clearly in considerable pain. The Nigeria centre-back is carried off on a stretcher, with 18-year-old Chidinma Okeke on for her World Cup debut.
50 min: With Michael still down, Nigeria make another, unrelated change: Halimatu Ayinde is withdrawn. Chinaza Uchendu races on in her place.
49 min: Faith Michael is down injured after colliding with her own goalkeeper, Oluehi. The Nigeria medical team are on to offer some treatment while, down on the touchline, they are already readying a replacement.
47 min: Almost some early joy for Norway, who break through Herlovsen and Utland, who has been very lively. They fancy adding a fourth. Neither team opted to make changes at the interval.
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46 min: Norway get the second half started.
Guro Reiten news, thanks to Ole Petter Pedersen, on email. “As it doesn’t seem to be mentioned, Reiten is joining Chelsea from Lillestrøm for £10.000, according to VG, Norway’s main news site. Her contract is up in December. She doesn’t like big cities and preferred townly Lillestrøm to Oslo when moving to the capital.”
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Half-time dispatch, courtesy of Kieran Pender:
There is a buoyant atmosphere in Reims, notwithstanding the mainly empty upper-stands and the rout on the pitch. Reims is a notable French city in a number of ways: it’s the unofficial capital of the Champagne wine region, once hosted the coronation ceremonies for French kings, and - somewhat more relevantly for present purposes - is home to Stade de Reims (two-time European Cup runners-up). It’s also an unfortunate two-hour drive from where I am staying in Valenciennes tonight (where Australia face Italy tomorrow), so it’s going to be a late night for yours truly.
Half-time: Norway 3-0 Nigeria
Norway are very much in charge at the interval.
45+2 min: Maren Mjelde fires the free-kick inches over Oluehi’s goal! A cracking effort – it was just a little too north by the Chelsea defender.
45 min: There will be two added minutes, during which the first of which Norway have a very inviting free-kick on the edge of the 18-yard box. Ordega hauls down Utland, earning a booking in the process. Norway will fancy this ...
43 min: And just as Nigeria look to keep up the heat on Norway, Ngozi Ebere passes the ball straight out of play. That sums things up for them in terms of how this first period has gone; they have been short of quality when it’s mattered.
40 min: Nigeria almost fashion a goal! A monstrous long throw causes havoc in the Norway box – but they cannot divert the ball home. Desire Oparanozie passed up the first bite of the cherry before Okobi badly skewed her effort.
39 min: And now Norway are cruising. Nigeria’s confidence has taken a hit. Those early green shoots seem a distant memory.
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GOAL! Norway 3-0 Nigeria (Ohale og, 37)
Isabell Herlovsen stormed to the byline, crossing for Utland but, before the Norway forward could get there, Osinachi Ohale helped it in at the near post. Great work by the Norway No 9 to panic the Nigeria defender into action.
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GOAL! Norway 2-0 Nigeria (Utland, 34)
Lisa-Marie Karlseng Utland powers home inside the box, blasting beyond the Nigeria goalkeeper Oluehi, who really should have done better. Nigeria cheaply ceded possession but it was more clever play by Reiten, who scored the opener, latching on to a ball before spreading the ball to her right, into the path of Utland, who calmly did the rest. It was a rasping strike – albeit straight at the Nigeria goalkeeper, with the ball zooming through her gloves.
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30 min: Ordega does the hard part, whipping in a delicious ball from the right. Desire Oparanozie is in the box but the Norway goalkeeper surges off her line to meet it. Smart work by Ingrid Hjelmseth, the 39-year-old.
28 min: Oluehi makes the mess of a fairly routine Norway corner and Nigeria get off the hook. Faith Michael – there is a joke there somewhere – ends up grounded after clashing with her own goalkeeper. And both sides take the opportunity to get some fluids on board. The crowd is looking fairly sparse in Reims.
26 min: Both sides are guilty of getting sloppy in midfield, surrendering the ball too easily. Nigeria are struggling to get their captain, the Guingamp forward Desire Oparanozie, into the game.
23 min: Nigeria’s Michael pokes the ball to safety after Chikwelu’s careless pass gifts Norway possession inside her own half. Norway pour forward, slipping in Herlovsen but Nigeria manage to make life difficult and get the ball clear.
22 min: Ah! It is too high for anyone in a green-and-white shirt to get on the end of. That Reiten opener has killed Nigeria’s early rhythm – and optimism.
21 min: Another Nigeria corner, their third of the match ...
20 min: Nigeria were the superior side but a couple of silly fouls saw them surrender ground and gave Norway a bit of initiative. Reiten fired into the corner beyond Oluehi in the goal after a bit of quick-thinking by her team-mates. A routine straight off the training ground.
19 min: Nigeria have never won a World Cup game when they have conceded the opening goal of the match. Records like that are made to be broken, right?
GOAL! Norway 1-0 Nigeria (Reiten, 17)
A short-corner routine fools Nigeria, who switch off, seemingly expecting a more orthodox delivery and when the ball arrives in the box, Guro Reiten powers at goal and it flies in via Ebe, the Nigeria defender. There was no stopping that.
14 min: Maren Mjelde, the Norway skipper who plays her club football for Chelsea, steps up to lash the free-kick goalwards but it goes flying over the goal, rising high into the stands. Nigeria just lost their cool in the buildup to that opportunity.
12 min: Desire Oparanozie, the Nigeria captain, is booked for giving the Norway defender Wold a whack as she moved in off the byline to seize possession. That seems a little harsh. But then Oparanozie makes a clumsy challenge in quick succession. In doing so, they have gifted Norway a slice of encouragement.
11 min: Tochukwu Oluehi smothers the ball after Utland was threaded through on goal. An alert piece of goalkeeping by the Nigeria No 1.
10 min: Nigeria are patiently probing, playing out from the back and knocking the ball around neatly. Ordega is very lively down the right wing, zooming up and down with purpose. The African side have settled the quicker here.
8 min: Utland is momentarily clean through on goal, played in via an extremely kind ricochet – but the Norway forward is flagged offside.
6 min: Encouraging play by Nigeria! Ordega is slipped in down the right channel and attempts to slide the ball across goal in search of the captain Desire Oparanozie. It is a decent ball in but Norway manage to snuff out the danger.
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5 min: Hjelmseth, the eldest member of the Norwegian squad, comfortably gathers. And tries to get her side on the front foot. They pour down the right flank but Nigeria are quick to read it and counter forward themselves.
4 min: Nigeria earn another corner ...
3 min: Utland drives into space down the right flank but her cross takes a deflection en route across goal. The Nigeria goalkeeper Oluehi hoovers it up.
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2 min: Norway, who have won their opening match at the past six World Cups, concede an early corner. Ebere swings it in and Ohale makes a clean contact with the ball but cannot get enough conviction on the strike.
Peeeeeeeep!
Nigeria get us under way in Reims.
Here we go! “Getting out of the group would be a minor miracle,” begins Abhijato Sensarma, via email, “but a mighty important step for the advancement of the game back at home. With an ever-enthusiastic crowd backing them, my keen outsider’s eye will be on the Nigerian team, the proud owners of this tournament’s most beautiful kit. Here’s to hoping that the minor miracle happens.”
And we are just the national anthems away from kick-off. The players have strutted out on to the turf to the tune of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army. Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, is among those in the stands. Before we get started, news of Spain’s win over South Africa in their Group B opener:
The teams head out of the tunnel in Reims. Here we go ...
Want to get the lowdown on the teams? Look no further:
Before we get stuck into this one, a moment’s thought for Justin Edinburgh, and his family and friends, following his tragic death:
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Team news!
Norway: Hjelmseth; Wold, Thorisdottir, Mjelde, Boe Risa, Herlovsen, Graham Hansen, Utland, Engen, Reiten, Minde
Subs: Hovland, Hansen, Thorsnes, Fiskerstrand, Asland, Eikeland, Maanum, Kvamme, Haavi, Saevik, Nautnes, Bogstad
Nigeria: Oluehi; Ohale, Ebere, Ebi, Oshoala, Oparanozie, Chikwelu, Okobi, Michael, Ordega, Ayinde
Subs: Nnadozie, Jonathan, Okeke, Ogebe, Kanu, Chinaza, Imo, Ajibade, Ihezuo, Ajayi, Nweabuoku, Chukwudi
Referee: Kate Jacewicz (Australia)
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Preamble
No Hegerberg, no party? The first women’s Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg has been absent for Norway since refusing to play for the national side two years ago, taking a stand against what she perceives as a lack of respect for female players in her country. That a negative Hegerberg interview, reportedly conducted as long ago as February, was released just before the tournament has hardly soothed the debate. Martin Sjögren’s side have other threats – namely Caroline Graham Hansen, of Barcelona, and Guro Reiten, another talented midfielder – and in Nigeria, who are ranked 38th in the world, they are hardly up against formidable opposition. It is impossible to mask the difficulty of the task in-hand. It is a big ask for them to progress out of the group for the first time since 2003, with the stylish hosts France and South Korea still to play.
Kick-off: 8pm (BST)
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