Norway vs Northern Ireland Women's EURO preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted line-ups

Norway meet Northern Ireland at St. Mary's Stadium in UEFA Women's EURO 2022 Group A on Thursday 7 July.

Where to watch Norway vs Northern Ireland on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Women's EURO 2022 broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

Two-time European champions Norway had a miserable time at the last EURO, bowing out at the group stage following three defeats, but they hope to have a more positive experience in England following striker Ada Hegerberg's return to the fold. Finals debutants Northern Ireland lost 6-0 to Norway home and away in qualifying for the finals. However, Kenny Shiels' side are not unhappy about being underdogs in this competition.

Starting line-ups

Norway: Pettersen; Sønstevold, Mjelde, Thorisdottir, Blakstad; Eikeland, Maanum, Graham Hansen, Engen, Reiten; Hegerberg

Northern Ireland: Burns; Burrows, Nelson, McFadden, Vance; Furness, McCarron, Caldwell; Magee, Wade, Magill

Reporters' views

Philip O'Connor, Norway reporter

All eyes will be on Ada Hegerberg, the all-time record scorer in the UEFA Women's Champions League who stepped away from the national team after Women's EURO 2017 but returns to provide added bite to an already impressive attack. She will be flanked by Barcelona's Caroline Graham Hansen and Chelsea winger Guro Reiten as Norway try to hit the ground running against Northern Ireland. Captain Maren Mjelde is set to return to the heart of defence after a long-term injury.

Samantha Miller, Northern Ireland reporter

Northern Ireland go into this competition as big underdogs and their qualifying results against Norway don't exactly undermine that status. Yet the finals debutants are a different proposition now, with several more players going full time to gear up for EURO 2022. Rachel Furness will be key to their attacking aspirations, but they may have to do without captain Marissa Callaghan, at least initially, as she returns to fitness following injury.

Form guide

Norway
Last six games: WWWWWL (most recent first)
Last match: Denmark 1-2 Norway, 29/06
Women's EURO 2017: fourth in Group A (W0 D0 L3)

Northern Ireland
Last six games: LLLLDW (most recent first)
Last match: Belgium 4-1 Northern Ireland, 23/06
Women's EURO 2017: did not qualify

View from the camps

Kenny Shiels, Northern Ireland coach: "We are not going to make up the numbers. Our first priority is to try and win a game – we have three games, and if we win two of them then more or likely we will reach the quarter-finals. But when you look at the opposition, winning one game will be very tough. It is not beyond the realms of possibility, but we are massive underdogs. We will try and win the first game [against Norway], and if we don't win that then we will try and win the next one."

More to follow