Norway's Caroline Graham, left, celebrates with Ada Hegerberg after scoring her side's second goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Norway and Finland at Stade de Tourbillon in Sion, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

GENEVA (AP) — They were star prospects aged 18 when Norway last played in the quarterfinals at the Women’s European Championship.

Now 12 years on, Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen — a Ballon d’Or winner and a runner-up in the voting, respectively — are team leaders for Norway’s first game in the knockout rounds since Euro 2013, against Italy on Wednesday.

“People expect things from us now,” Graham Hansen acknowledged Tuesday, calling their situation today a “complete difference.”

“We were like 18 and nobody expected nothing from us. We also just wanted to show what we could contribute at the time,” she said while sitting alongside Hegerberg.

“I wasn’t playing with much pressure at all (in 2013),” said Graham Hansen, who started in the final that Norway lost 1-0 to Germany. “I was just going for it.”

Graham Hansen and Hegerberg have combined to score 102 national-team goals, and the first of those at a major tournament was in that quarterfinal game in 2013 in Sweden. Hegerberg got Norway’s third in a 3-1 win over Spain with a curling shot that went in off a post.

Both have added one goal each in Switzerland this month to help Norway sweep the group stage with three victories. Hansen's crafty 84th-minute goal sealed a 2-1 win over Finland and sent Norway into the last eight with a game to spare.

“The start couldn’t be any better,” Hegerberg said in translated comments. “We can enjoy that we have such a strong position.”

Gaupset's time

A new generation also is emerging, and one highly rated prospect made her mark when Norway was already sure to top its group that included Switzerland and rested both standout forwards.

Signe Gaupset, who turned 20 last month, scored twice early in a 4-3 win over Iceland on Thursday. She was youngest player in the tournament’s 41-year history to do that and later added two assists for Frida Maanum’s goals.

“She’s young, and that is additional motivation to take the opportunities you get,” Graham Hansen said of Gaupset, as if describing her younger self. “She’s a big talent.”

Norway coach Gemma Grainger said Gaupset’s performance “wasn’t much of a surprise to any of us” though would not be drawn if the Brann winger will retain her place on the left flank to face Italy.

Italy's 12-year wait

Italy also earned its first quarterfinals place since Euro 2013, when the Azzurre lost 1-0 to Germany.

In qualifying last year, Italy finished top in a group that left Norway in third place and needing to advance through two rounds of playoffs. Italy and Norway drew twice in that qualifying group — 0-0 in Oslo and 1-1 five days later in Ferrara.

“I believe the Euros is very different," Italy coach Andrea Soncin said Tuesday about those 13 months ago, adding the team lineups ”have changed a lot."

The game Wednesday is in Geneva, where Italy already played and drew 1-1 with Portugal. The winner will return to the city next Tuesday for a semifinal against Sweden or England.

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