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Women's World Cup 2015: 'My biggest problem is that I sometimes pick up the ball with my hands' - Norway make spoof documentary

Norway may be out, but they won't be forgotten

Kiran Moodley
Tuesday 23 June 2015 16:43 BST
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The England women's football team may have triumphed against Norway in the last sixteen of the Women's World Cup, but the Scandavians won the award for the best response to any sexist notions that the tournament in Canada is not on a par with the men's game.

The Norway women's football team took part in a spoof documentary for NRK Sport in which they came clean: while they have constantly battled against prejudices regarding their sport, they now admit that all the derogatory remarks made about women's football are actually true.

"We are s***. Really, we absolutely suck at this," says Trine Ronning, who has played over 150 times for the national team.

Emilie Haavi admits that she often forgets that the game involves playing with her feet rather than her hands: "I forget the rules and then I just, 'Oh f***, handball!'"

Haavi also jokes that she finds free kicks really difficult, because it's incredibly tough to get the ball over the wall, while Cathrine Dekkerhus, capped 20 times for her country and who has played in the UEFA Women's Champions League, says her kick-up record is only 25 - and that was using a balloon.

Dekkerhus also has to reveal that, yes, she is so good looking she once had to transfer due to her fellow players falling in love with her.

Ingrid Hjelmseth is nearing her 100th cap for Norway as goalkeeper, but she actually hates playing.

"Goal kicks are my worst nightmare. I'm just dreading the moment when someone kicks the ball over the line. I just can’t get the ball in the air."

She even finds the size of the goal a problem: "The goal is just too big for me. There should've been two of us."

Just over ten years ago, Fifa president Sepp Blatter said, "Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball,They could, for example, have tighter shorts.

"Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men - such as playing with a lighter ball."

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