My scheduled slate of games at the Women's Euros concluded Friday with one of the first actual upsets in the tournament, as Austria took out Norway 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. With two of the top 10 attacking players in the world, according to many (Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen), Norway were the popular pick to finish second in the group. ESPN's Soccer Power Index gave them more than a 60-percent chance of winning the game outright, which was what they needed to advance.
But after losing 8-0 to England on Monday in just a jaw-dropping display of attacking firepower against a porous defense, Norway was under incredible pressure. They never got anything going and were being outshot 13-2 at one point before getting a couple of late chances.
Having closely watched Austria's Cinderella run to the semifinals in 2017, I was not surprised by the outcome: I told Danielle Slaton, my partner, I expected a tie that would have been enough for Austria to advance. So it was nice to be right, for once, and to call another big moment in the progression of Austria women's football! Check out the highlights:
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