Away with the national team
I must say that after all the days of snow and playing in the cold, I was happy to leave and play in the Algarve Cup with the Norwegian national team. The weather has been great with about 18 degrees Celsius and sun. It is so lovely to play in T-shirt and shorts again. But OK, enough talk about the weather, as that is not the interesting stuff. After arriving here, we have had a lot of good trainings as well as a game against Finland.
We won that game, 2-1, after a well-played game. It was arranged who was going to play in that game, so I already knew that I would be playing the last 30 min. The team started off aggressively and pressured Finland, but it was Finland that took the lead 1-0. It took us only one minute to come back with a great goal from Elise Thorsnes. Isabell Herlovsen scored the second goal, and that was also the final result. We changed all six players (that is what is allowed in this tournament) in the last 30 minutes, and it was good to see that when we came in we kept pressuring and creating chances. In all honesty we should have scored about three goals, so that is something we have to work on!
In our group, USA played Japan and won, 2-1. We play USA tomorrow, and I know that this is going to be a real tough game. I love playing against good teams, so I am really looking forward to it. We will spend the day to analyze how the US played and try and prepare as good as possible. Hopefully this is a game I get to start in. They will pick the players they think are the best right now for this game, so it will be hard to get a spot in the first 11. I have a good feeling though so crossing fingers, and crossing fingers for a good game and a W at the end of it.
This trip is also a preparation for the World Cup and we are getting used to the media. We have had some media training and also have had different interviews with amongst others ESPN. ESPN have presented a real professional setup and I am looking forward to seeing the end result. I am impressed with their creativity so this should be good. It was also good training for the world cup. In our own media training with the NFF (Norwegian Football Federation, www.fotball.no) , we were put on the spot and asked different kinds of critical questions to prepare ourselves for what might come in the WC. We should be prepared, and hopefully I will not answer any questions in a manner that will create a big mess. It is apparently easier than one would think.
Loving the trip so far. Will keep you updated
Woods
Lisa Marie Woods is a member of the Norwegian Women’s National Team. She also plays for Danish champions, Fortuna Hjørring.