We’re excited to once again bring you details of Aussies playing in Nordic football leagues (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland) in 2024. Read on to see how they fared in our first Nordic Wrap of the year!
Over the last two weeks of Danish action, we’ve seen the Danish Cup quarter finals and the commencement of the Kvindeliga‘s second phase.
AGF travelled to Fortuna Hjørring and defeated them 1-0 in their Cup quarter final, earning a semi final matchup with Brøndby. Matilda McNamara played the whole game, while Ally Green was an unused sub.
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FC Nordsjælland‘s defence of the Danish Cup title is still on track. The Tigers progressed to the Cup semi finals with a 3-0 away triumph over third tier Dalum / Næsby. Winonah Heatley (back from injury) and Malia Steinmetz were named in the starting lineup. Nordsjælland will meet second tier NIF / HG in the last four of the Cup.
In league action, the top six teams from the first phase of the Kvindeliga will play a double round robin series to determine the league title and 2024-25 Champions League qualification.
AGF started the league’s second phase with a 3-1 away defeat to HB Køge. McNamara played the first half and Green came on in the 80th minute. Køge’s pair of Football Ferns both received playing time – Claudia Bunge was on the field from start to finish, and Daisy Cleverley entered play in the 67th minute.
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Meanwhile, Nordsjælland had to settle for a point, drawing 2-2 away to Fortuna Hjørring. Heatley played a full game, while Steinmetz started and played 87 minutes.
Heatley is clearly highly regarded by the club, and we were delighted to learn that during the Kvindeliga winter break, she signed a contact extension until the end of the 2024-25 season.
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As was the case for most of last season, Larissa Crummer of Brann Kvinner is the sole Australian in the Toppserien.
Brann finished the Champions League group stage on a high, winning their final two games in Group B. Now they have one of football’s toughest assignments – a two leg quarter final against Barcelona. Brann played the first leg at home, losing 2-1, with Crummer starting and playing 79 minutes.
In their first Toppserien match of the year, Brann lost 4-2 away to LSK Kvinner, with Crummer coming on at halftime when the hosts were leading 2-0 and picking up a late yellow card. Check out the quality of the goals scored from outside the box by both teams in the below highlights package.
Results
Ladder
While the 2024 Damallsvenskan does not commence until April 13th, we look forward to bringing you the exploits of Aivi Luik (BK Häcken), Angie Beard (Linköping FC), plus Clare Polkinghorne and Amy Sayer (Kristianstad DFF).
All three teams are participating in the Svenska Cup group stage. Matchday one saw Kristianstads defeat Lidköping 8-1 and Häcken defeat Växjö DFF 3-0, while Linköping drew 4-4 with Rosengård.
In the second matchday of the group stage, Beard played the first half of Linköping’s 8-0 away trouncing of second-tier Göteborg. Luik started in Häcken’s 7-1 away win over lower-tier Lidköping, while Polkinghorne and Sayer both played full games in Kristianstads’ 3-1 home loss to top tier Växjö.
While we were taking a break from Nordic Wrap duties, Häcken earned four points from their last two Champions League group stage games and qualified for the quarter finals. The 1st leg of the quarter finals was held during the week, with Häcken losing 2-1 at home to PSG. Luik played for the whole game.
As yet no Aussies have signed up to compete in the 2024 Besta Deild Kvenna competition which kicks off April 22nd. If the situation changes, the Aussies in Nordic Football wrap will be sure to cover it!
Follow all our coverage of Aussies and Ferns Abroad here, and read more of our Nordic coverage here.
