Women's Euro 2022: three selections for England's next test against Norway

The Women's Euro 2022 is in full swing and the host nation return to action on Monday. Can England make it two wins from two?

Norway will make England work hard for win

Both of these teams got their campaigns off to winning starts. England beat Austria 1-0 on opening night. It was not the greatest performance from the host nation, but Sarina Wiegman’s side were comfortable throughout and deserved all three points.

Wiegman won Euro 2017 with the Netherlands and she will know as well as anyone that it is important for teams to pace themselves at international tournaments.

Norway were more impressive, albeit against weaker opposition. Their 4-1 thrashing of Northern Ireland means they go into Monday’s match on top of Group A. That win will give them renewed confidence in their ability to cause England problems, even though they are clearly the underdogs. 

Goals on the cards with two quality attacks

Wiegman will certainly be wary of attacking duo Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen, two of the best forwards in the women’s game. And while we should not read too much into their triumph over Northern Ireland, the weakest team in the group, Norway are now on a six-match winning streak which includes victories over Portugal and Denmark. 

England defended assuredly last time out, with the centre-back Millie Bright particularly impressive. But with Hegerberg and Hansen ably supported by the likes of Chelsea’s Guro Reiten and Ingrid Engen, Norway have every chance of finding the back of the net in Brighton. Both teams to score is attractively priced enough at 1.77 to be worth a shot. 

Similarly, it is worth taking up over 2.5 goals at 1.8 (another option is combining these two selections into a single wager, available at 2.2). England kept things tight against Austria but it felt like they could take things up a gear if they needed to. If Norway push England harder, we should be in store for a higher-scoring match. 

England got off to the perfect start in their bid to win Women's Euro 2022 with a 1-0 win over Austria

England’s better balance gives them the edge

For all that Norway’s frontline caught the eye last time out, their backline looked vulnerable even against opponents ranked 47th in the world. England have quality forwards of their own in Beth Mead, Ellen White and Lauren Hemp, but they also have a better balance between attack and defence.

That should give them the edge at the Falmer Stadium. Another advantage will be the backing of the home crowd. The 68,781 fans who packed inside Old Trafford on Friday set a new tournament record attendance, smashing the previous high of 41,301 from the final of Euro 2013. 

Brighton & Hove Albion’s home ground has a much smaller capacity than Old Trafford, but England will nevertheless be vocally backed by the majority of the crowd inside. With that in mind, consider another win for the Lionesses at 1.72.

Recommended bets

BTTS @ 1.77

Over 2.5 @ 1.8

England @ 1.72