Norway women's coach axed after European rout to England

Oslo (AFP) – Norwegian women’s football head coach Martin Sjogren has been axed after the team’s humiliating European Championship group stage defeat to England, the national federation announced on Tuesday.

England recorded the biggest win in European Championship history with an 8-0 demolition of Norway on July 11.

“We’re all disappointed with the performances at the European Championship this summer,” said federation president Lise Klaveness in a statement. 

The Scandinavians had nourished medal ambitions after the return of top scorer Ada Hegerberg following five years of self-imposed exile in protest at the inequality of treatment given to men’s and women’s teams by the Norwegian federation. 

Swede Sjogren, 45, and his assistant Anders Jacobson took charge in January 2017, but are leaving by mutual consent with one year left on their contracts, the federation said.

Klaveness said she did not want to point out individual responsibilities, but that the extension of the two coaches’ contracts until the 2023 World Cup had been accompanied by a requirement to produce results.

Under Sjogren, Norway were already eliminated in the group stage at Euro 2017 before failing in the quarter-finals two years later at the World Cup in France.