Ladies Euro 2025: Graham Hansen scores winner for Norway, because it guarantees almost a quarterfinals

The winning strike by Caroline Graham Hansen for Norway against Finland on Sunday will hardly register between the best goals of her career, but it guarantees its country almost a chance of redemption after years of euro -heart sake.

Her cross from a tight corner fell over the Finnish keeper before he hit the distant pole and flew into the net in the 84th minute, a just reward after she had shown the full size of her dribbling skills to set up the chance.

«It was intuition, you try the thing that nobody expects, and then it goes in. I have no better explanation than that,» Graham Hansen told Norway TV2 After the 2-1 victory on her part.

«It’s beautiful, especially if it was such a messy game. You feel that you are not entirely where you want to be, so getting three points and going to the quarterfinals is beautiful,» she added.

After beating host Switzerland 2-1 in their opener on Wednesday, Norway is almost guaranteed a place in the last eight.

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If Iceland does not leave Switzerland later on Sunday, the Norwegians will continue to the knockout phase as a group winner and will play second place in group B, with Spain, Italy, Belgium and Portugal.

For people like Graham Hansen, team captain Ada Hegerberg and former Captain Maren Mjelde, they will continue to the knockout phases offer them a chance of repayment after more than a decade of under performance in the euro.

That trio all played in the last match of Norway in the knockout phase of the competition, the final of 2013, in which Graham Hansen won one of the two penalties that the Norwegians missed in a 1-0 defeat through Germany.

They left in the group stage in 2017 and 2022, with a record with 8-0 loss for final winners England previous time-out.

«We want her to accept people, nobody is better than Caroline, and she ended with a fantastic goal that is incredibly important to us,» said Hegerberg.

Norway will be confronted with Iceland in his last group game on Thursday.