Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg is back in the Norway squad after a five-year absence
(Picture: Getty Images)Ada Hegerberg, the inaugural winner of the women’s Ballon d’Or, has returned to the Norway squad for the first time in five years.
Hegerberg quit the national team back in 2017, the year before she won the Ballon d’Or, because of a dispute with the Norwegian Football Federation over the treatment of women’s football in the country.
Norway have been trying to get the Lyon forward to return ever since and she has now done so after being named in their latest squad on Thursday.
Hegerberg is due to play in Norway’s World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Poland next month, while it is hoped she will also now take part at this summer’s delayed European Championship in England.
“It feels incredibly good to be back,” Hegerberg said in a video message. “I will do my part to help us achieve great things, both on and off the field - for football, for Norway, but not least for the next generation.”
Norway head coach Martin Sjogren described Hegerberg as “one of the best” strikers in the world and said the team would benefit from her return.
🇳🇴 Heia Norge. #longtimenosee pic.twitter.com/TWZ05JQ3JZ
— Ada S Hegerberg (@AdaStolsmo) March 24, 2022
“For the most part, we have talked about how we see the future together, and not what has happened in the past,” Sjogren said.
“It was mostly to do with Ada’s role and how we can make the team even better. The conversations have been very good.”
