"The U.S. team is top-seeded before the world championships start, but we will perform well against them," says Norwegian coach, Bjarne Berntsen to fotball.no, a Norwegian soccer website.
"We need to meet a great adversary to play against, since the world championships are getting close."
After the U.S. match, the team moves on the meet Germany, before their first match of the World Championships, against Canada.
“U.S. Soccer has put together an excellent series of matches for us leading into the Women’s World Cup,” U.S. Women's National Team head coach Greg Ryan said. “We’ll get to see some teams, including Norway, that will be in China in September, it will give the players a chance to play games at home after so many games abroad recently, and it will give fans across the United States the chance to see the team and cheer them on before we embark on the great challenge of trying to win the Women’s World Cup.”
U.S. Women’s National Team captain Kristine Lilly, a who grew up in Wilton, Conn., returns to her home state for the fourth time in her career that has spanned 20 years and a world record 324 games. Her first appearance in Connecticut came nearly 16 year ago, a 1-0 loss to Norway at Willowbrook Park in New Britain on Aug. 30, 1991. She has faced the Scandinavians 30 times (including her 300th cap).
“I love playing Norway,” Lilly told ussoccer.com, a U.S. soccer website. “First, they are a great competitive team and one of our biggest rivals. Second, they are going to be in the World Cup which gives us another preparation game against a World Cup-caliber team, and third, I think it will be great soccer for the Connecticut area to see. Norway is a team that is World Cup champions and Olympic gold medalists. Both teams are respectful of one another’s great tradition and history of women’s soccer and both nations have played a major role in the growth of women’s soccer internationally over the years. It should be one of best games of the Send-Off Series.”
Norway is ranked 4th in the FIFA international ranking of women's soccer teams. The U.S. tops the ranking, followed by Germany and Sweden.
The Norwegian team is as follows:
Christine C. Nilsen - Kolbotn
Erika Skarbø - Arna-Bjørnar
Marit F. Christensen - Røa
Gunhild B. Følstad - Trondheims-Ørn
Madeleine Giske - Arna-Bjørnar
Solveig Gulbrandsen - Kolbotn
Unni Lehn - Trondheims-Ørn
Camilla H. Huse - Kolbotn
Marie Knutsen - Røa
Maritha Kaufmann - Team Strømmen
Kristin Lie - Trondheims-Ørn
Siri Nordby - Røa
Trine Rønning - Kolbotn
Ane S. Horpestad - Klepp
Lene Mykjåland - Røa
Lindy Melissa Wiik - Asker
Leni Larsen Kaurin - Asker
Lene Storløkken - Team Strømmen