USWNT to travel to Norway for international friendly on June 11

CHICAGO (Feb. 23, 2017) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will play in Europe this summer, traveling to face Norway on June 11 at Komplett Arena in Sandefjord, which is located on the southeast coast about 75 miles south of Oslo.

The match, which will kick off at 7:15 p.m. local time (1:15 p.m. ET) will mark the 50th meeting between the historic rivals who combined to win the first five FIFA world championships for women.

The USA won the 1991 Women’s World Cup in China, defeating Norway in the championship game, and won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, defeating Norway in the semifinal on a golden goal. Norway won the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup, defeating the USA in the semifinal, and the 2000 Olympic gold medal, defeating the USA in the title game on a golden goal. The USA won the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, but the teams did not meet in that tournament.

+READ: Five Things to Know About Norway

The match will be the second of a two-game set in Europe for the U.S. Women with the other match still to be announced.

The meeting with Norway will come just over a month before the start of the 2017 UEFA Women’s Euro, for which Norway was drawn into Group A with host Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. It will be Norway’s last match on home soil before opening the Euros against the hosts on July 16 in Utrecht.

The USA and Norway last met at the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal, a 2-1 win for the USA. Norway scored first in that match through Ada Hegerberg, but two second-half goals from Carli Lloyd propelled the U.S. to victory and eventually its 10th Algarve Cup title.

Additional Notes:

• Norway is currently ranked 11th in the world.
• The USA has played Norway 49 times – dating back to 1987 – which is the most games against any opponent besides Canada and China PR.
• The USA is 28-19-2 all-time against Norway. The 19 wins for Norway are the most for any country all-time against the USA.
• The USA is riding a five-game winning streak against Norway. The most recent win for the Scandinavians came in the opening match of the 2008 Olympics, a 2-0 win in Qinhuangdao, China.
• The USA has played three friendly matches in Norway, the first two coming in July of 2000, a 1-1 draw in Tromso in the far north of the country, and a 2-1 loss in Oslo.
• The teams most recently met in Norway on July 2, 2008, in Fredrikstad, a 4-0 U.S. victory. Tobin Heath, Amy Rodriguez and Carli Lloyd (who scored in the game) are the only current WNT players who featured in that match.
• The last six matches between the teams have all been decided by two goals or less, with three 2-1 victories for the USA, one 2-0 victory and one 1-0 victory along with one 2-0 victory for Norway.
• The most recent friendly matches for the U.S. Women in Europe came at the start of 2015, when the USA played in France (1-0 L) and England (1-0 W).
• Norway qualified for the Euros by handily winning Group 8 with seven wins and one draw, scoring 29 goals and allowing two.