The first female Ballon d'Or in history no longer shuns her selection.
The Norwegian striker from Lyon Ada Hegerberg, announced this Thursday his return to the selection after almost five years of estrangement and a few months before the Euro.
"I am happy to be able to come back to this team today, and to start a new story," she said in a statement coinciding with the presentation of the list by Norway coach Martin Sjögren.
The Norwegian star had withdrawn from the national team after a disappointing Euro 2017, citing in particular a gender inequality in the bonuses paid by the federation.
“I love football, and I want to play football.
I made a decision in 2017 that I don't regret.
But I've had a lot of time to reflect over the past two years, on many aspects of my life,” the 26-year-old explained on Thursday.
She will be present in the national team on April 4 in Oslo, in order to prepare for the qualifying matches for the 2023 World Cup against Kosovo and Poland.
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A post shared by Ada Stolsmo Hegerberg (@ahegerberg)
In a message on Instagram, the striker (38 goals in 66 caps) posted a photo of her with the Norwegian jersey on her shoulders, with the caption the message “Go Norway.
#longtimenose” (it’s been a long time).
Victim of a serious knee injury which kept her out of the field for almost two years, Ada Hegerberg returned to competition in October 2021 with Lyon, with whom she was crowned European champion five times.
The Norwegian federation, in particular its new president Lise Klaveness, has been working to bring her back to the international level in recent months.
“I was able to have very honest conversations with the federation, via Lise in particular,” explained Hegerberg.
During a press conference in Norway, coach Martin Sjögren said he was "very happy (...) As a coach you want the best players available, and now I can say that we have the best players available", he said.
Norway has qualified for the next European Championship which will take place this summer in England (July 6 to 31).
It is part of group A alongside the host country in particular.
