Euro 2025 Day Five Tipsheet: Back Norway skipper to strike | OneFootball

Norway v Iceland

Live on BBC Two

Midway through their opener against the hosts Switzerland, it seemed as though Norway were going to yet again flatter to deceive at a major tournament. They rightfully trailed 1-0 at the break, and looked disjointed in attack.

However, Gemma Grainger's team got a grip of the game after the break, and Switzerland found Norway captain Ada Hegerberg a real handful. Hegerberg equalised with a header from a set piece, and her very presence in the box then forced Julia Stierli to score an own goal. Hegerberg could then have crowned a virtuoso display by converting a penalty, but she rolled her effort agonisingly wide.

Norway had some scary moments late on, but they saw it through, and another win against Finland would put them in pole position to win the group. Finland are a tough outfit who dug really deep against Iceland, and came out with a surprise 1-0 win. That said, they rode their luck in the closing stages, even though Iceland had been reduced to ten players.

While it's tempting to back Norway at 1.7 to take another win, I'll actually just back Hegerberg to score at evens. The former Ballon d'Or winner and current Norway captain was excellent in the second half against the Swiss, and most of the Norwegian attacks went through her.

Switzerland v Iceland

Sunday 06 July, 20:00

As the host nation, Switzerland had high hopes going into Euro 2025, but they are now behind the 8-ball after a second-half collapse against Norway. That said, there were reasons to be cheerful, as they rained in 17 goal attempts, including seven on target.

They now face an Iceland side that lost 1-0 to Finland in the opener - a clumsy second-half dismissal for Hildur Antonsdottir (she made two challenges that Vinny Jones would have been proud of) put them on the back foot, and they then conceded a stunning goal to Katarina Kosola. Even with ten players they could have levelled, but they couldn't make any of their late chances count.

It's worth noting that Iceland twice held Switzerland to draws in the recent Nations League. They went away to the Swiss and held them to a 0-0 draw, and then they fought back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 in the reverse in April. Switzerland failed to win any of those six games in the Nations League, and their only win since October was a 4-1 friendly win over Czechia just before this tournament started.

Even with home advantage, I can't back Switzerland here in the Match Odds market at 1.96, not least because of the recent history between the two, which shows there isn't much to choose between them. I'll lay the hosts.