The Dóttir Diary

A special extended edition of the column marking the Norway defender’s retirement from international football after 71 caps and four major tournaments. She traces a debut against Iceland, her father’s country, in March 2015, a nervous first World Cup start against Germany, being moved to midfield on the eve of EURO 2017, and rates the 2019 World Cup, and the penalty shootout against Australia, her highest point. Most of the piece is a candid account of the 8-0 EURO 2022 defeat to England: a penalty she still disputes, a half she has largely blocked out, a silent dressing room, a brutal media zone, and weeks off social media. Fighting back, she says, was her personal victory.