Germany and Norway together once more

Frequent opponents in UEFA European Women's Championship final tournament matches, Germany have proved to be Norway's nemesis at this level.

Head-to-head record
• This will be their 36th encounter. Of 35 games so far, Germany lead 17-13 in wins and 62-47 in goals.

• Germany's advantage is down to UEFA Women's EURO finals matches with six wins and one draw in seven meetings, which include games at every edition since the group stage was introduced in 1997.

• Norway won the earliest encounter 4-1 on 2 May 1984 in Helmstedt, West Germany.

• In 1987 European qualifying, Norway won 3-2 in West Germany and drew 0-0 at home on their way to winning the title.

• The first of these nations' three Women's EURO final meetings was on 2 July 1989 in Osnabruck when a West Germany team containing current coach Silvia Neid won 4-1 against a Norway side managed, as now, by Even Pellerud.

• Two years later in the 1991 final, Germany won 3-1 in Aalborg, Neid's 85th-minute goal clinching victory against Pellerud's side.

• Revenge was Pellerud's as Norway defeated Neid's Germany 2-0 in the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup final in Solna at the old Råsunda. Pellerud's Norway also overcame Germany 3-2 in the 1996 Olympics on their way to a bronze medal.

• Pellerud had moved on and Neid retired when they met in 1997 qualifying, Norway winning 3-1 away – still Germany's last EURO loss and drawing 0-0 at home. It was also goalless in the final tournament group stage in Moss, the last time Germany failed to win a EURO finals game. Germany were to win the tournament, Norway falling in the group stage for the only time.

• Norway beat Germany 1-0 in the 2000 Olympic semi-finals but lost to hosts Germany by the same score at the same stage of UEFA Women's EURO 2001 in Ulm.

• Germany opened the UEFA Women's EURO 2005 group stage with a 1-0 win against Norway in Warrington and then in the final in Blackburn triumphed 3-1. Anja Mittag started for the winners against Marit Christensen, Trine Rønning and Solveig Gulbrandsen. It was Neid's last game as assistant before becoming Germany's head coach.

• On the way to winning her first tournament in charge, Neid oversaw a 3-0 2007 World Cup semi-final defeat of Norway in Tianjin. Rønning, who scored an own goal, was joined by Ingvild Stensland, Gulbrandsen, and Leni Larsen Kaurin against Nadine Angerer, Annike Krahn, Simone Laudehr and Melanie Behringer, who was replaced in the first half by Fatmire Bajramaj.

• Just as in 2005, Germany opened their title defence in Finland four years ago against Norway and won 4-0 in Tampere. Three goals came after the 89th minute, two from Bajramaj either side of a Mittag strike.

• A fortnight later they were rematched in Helsinki in the semi-finals. Norway led at the break only for substitutes Simone Laudehr, Célia Okoyino da Mbabi and Bajramaj to turn the game.

• Angerer, Saskia Bartusiak, Krahn, Behringer and Bianca Schmidt all started for Germany; Ingrid Hjelmseth, Toril Akerhaugen, Marita Lund, Stensland, Gulbrandsen, Herlovsen, Kaurin, Maren Mjelde were in the Norway team.

• Norway's last win against Germany was a 2-0 friendly triumph in Sandefjord on 23 July 2008, four months after a similar Algarve Cup success. They also met in Mainz on 16 June 2011, Germany winning 3-0 in a pre-World Cup warm-up with Laudehr and Alexandra Popp (2) scoring between the 79th and 82nd minutes.

Selected previous meeting
11 March 2013: Germany 2-0 Norway (Okoyino da Mbabi 52, Kessler 86) – Municipal Stadium, Lagos, Algarve Cup
Germany: Angerer, Maier, Wensing (Cramer 31), Henning, Peter, Odebrecht, Goessling, Mittag (Huth 67), Marozsan (Kessler 67), Faisst (Behringer 56), Okoyino da Mbabi (Popp 67).
Norway: Hjelmseth, Ryland, Dahle, Christensen, Akerhaugen, Mjelde (Stensland 57), Mykjåland, Gulbrandsen, Tofte Ims, Hansen (Hegeberg 6), Bjånesøy (Larsen Kaurin 55).

• Germany inflicted Even Pellerud's first defeat after returning as Norway coach to seal Group A top spot, for which they had only needed a draw.

• As well as three senior European and one World Cup final, these nations have been matched in two youth deciders. In the 2001 UEFA European Women's Under-18 Championship, Neid's Germany beat Norway 3-2 in Lillestrom, Rønning on the losing side.

• A decade later in the U19 event that replaced the U18 classification, Germany overcame Norway 8-1 in Imola, Luisa Wensing scoring the only first-half goal.

Form guide
• Germany registered their first victory of UEFA Women's EURO 2013 with a 3-0 defeat of Iceland on Sunday. Lena Lotzen, with her first senior international goal, opened the scoring (24) with Okoyino da Mbabi (55, 84) securing a deserved win for the champions in Vaxjo.

• Okoyino da Mbabi's two goals took her to 19 for the competition (including qualifying), eclipsing the 18-year-old record of her compatriot, Patricia Brocker (18), for a single UEFA European Women's Championship.

• Germany's run of 19 successive victories at UEFA Women's EURO finals since a group stage was introduced in 1991 came to an end as they were held to a goalless draw by the Netherlands in their opening Group B game.

• Although Germany's run of 39 straight UEFA Women's EURO victories and 36 consecutive major qualifying victories, going back to November 1999, was ended in November 2011 by a 2-2 draw in Spain, they dropped no other points and ended eight clear in Group 2.

• Their goal tally from ten games was a typically impressive 64-3 (the next highest was Spain's 43) and included a joint tournament record 17-0 defeat of Kazakhstan a week before the Spain trip.

• Germany are aiming for a sixth straight success and since a group stage was introduced in 1997 they are unbeaten in final tournaments, winning 20 of their last 21 matches.

• Germany have not lost a UEFA European Women's Championship fixture since the 3-1 home qualifying defeat by Norway on 2 May 1996. The 57-game unbeaten run up to the end of 2013 qualifying included 52 wins and five draws.

• However, they exited the 2011 World Cup on home soil with an extra-time loss to Japan in the quarter-finals, costing them the trophy they had held since 2003 and, for the first time, an Olympic slot.

• Solveig Gulbrandsen (54) scored the only goal of the game as Norway defeated the Netherlands in Kalmar on Sunday to keep pace with Germany atop the section on four points.

• Norway lost both their opening fixtures in the 2005 and 2009 finals so at their 1-1 draw with Iceland to open the 2013 edition was an improvement. Nevertheless, they were left disappointed in Kalmar as an 87th-minute penalty from Margrét Lára Vidarsdóttir denied them all three points. Even Pellerud's team had led from the 26th minute when Kristine Hegland got the better of the Iceland defence.

• Norway lost two of their first four qualifiers in Iceland and Northern Ireland but won all six fixtures in 2012 to top their section and maintain a record of qualifying every time since their 1987 triumph; only once have they not made the last four (1997).

• However coach Eli Landsem's contract was not renewed at the end of 2012, meaning a return for Pellerud from Trinidad and Tobago. Pellerud was also in charge for Norway's second EURO victory in 1993.

Team ties
• Norway have several players with German league experience. Leni Kaurin played alongside Schmidt, Mittag, Tabea Kemme and Oderbrecht at 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam between 2007 and 2009. Kaurin counted Angerer, Bartusiak, Svenja Huth and Dzsenifer Marozsán as team-mates at 1. FFC Frankfurt in 2009/10 and played with Nadine Kessler and Lena Goessling at VfL Wolfsburg between 2010 and 2012.