6 October 1987 - He Died With His Boots On

On 6 October 1987, Roald Jensen, widely considered Norway's greatest player, died while training with his old club, SK Brann. He was 44 years old.

Nicknamed "Knicksen"( meaning "juggler") for his tremendous technical ability with the ball, Jensen joined Brann in 1956 as a youth player, then made his first-team debut in 1960 when he was 17 years old. He earned his first cap for the national team that same year.

In his first three seasons with Brann, they won the league twice (1962 and 1963), but his fourth season ended in relegation, prompting his move to Scotland, where he turned professional and became Heart of Midlothian's player from outside the UK.

He remained with Hearts for six seasons, then returned to Brann in 1971 and stayed until 1973, when a dispute with the team's manager led to Jensen's retirement in 1973 at the age of 30. He continued to be involved with the club, however, and was training with them when he collapsed and died.

Three years after his death, the Norwegian football association honored Jensen with the creation of the Knicksen Award, given annually to the best player in Norway's top flight. In 1995, Brann further celebrated him by putting a statue of him outside their stadium.

7 October 1917 - The Danish Dozen

On 7 October 1917, Denmark whipped Norway in a friendly 12-0 despite starting the match a man down.

The imbalance was caused by Danish defender Johannes Hansen, who--for reasons that remain unclear--chose to get a pre-match haircut that delayed the opening whistle. The Norwegians agreed to the delay, but Swedish referee Ernst Albihn went ahead and started the match after learning that Hansen had arrived at the stadium in Copenhagen, even though he was not on the pitch.

As it turned out, it didn't make any difference. Even with the brief disadvantage in numbers, Denmark's Michael Rohde scored in only the 6th minute. At the half-hour mark, they were up 4-0 with a hat-trick from Rohde's club teammate, Victor Klein (both played for B 93). Rohde then scored another before the break to stretch the lead to 5-0.

The second half was even worse for Norway. They managed to avoid another goal until Paul Berth's 68th-minute strike, but then the dam burst as Kjøbenhavns Boldklub forward Poul Nielsen (pictured) rattled off five straight goals in a span of just over ten minutes (70', 74', 76', 78', 80'). A final score from Alf Olsen in the 83rd minute ended the barrage and set the final margin at 12-0.

The match remains Norway's biggest defeat.

29 January 2006 - Eight May Be Enough, But Nine Is Better

On 29 January 2006, the United States beat Norway 5-0 in a friendly at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Three of the Yanks' goals were scored by forward Taylor Twellman, whose hat-trick was only the ninth in the history of the US national team.

Twellman, who plays his club ball for the MLS' New England Revolution, was making a push for inclusion in the 2006 World Cup side. Despite winning the MLS Golden Boot in 2005, he had scored only one previous international goal, in October 2005, since his call up to the senior team in 2002.

Although Twellman appeared to find his scoring touch, contributing another goal in a 3-2 friendly win over Japan in February 2006, he was not part of the side that traveled to Germany in 2006. That team managed to score only one goal--a 43rd-minute strike from Clint Dempsey against Ghana--and was eliminated from the tournament in the group stage. (They also benefited from an Italy own goal to draw 1-1 with the eventual champions.)

Twellman rejoined the national team for their successful 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign and made his last appearance on 19 January 2008.

18 January 2006 - Lilly Travels To The Third Century

On 18 January 2006, United States forward/midfielder and captain Kristine Lilly became the first player--male or female--to reach 300 caps when she appeared against Norway in the Four Nations Tournament.

Lilly joined the USWNT in 1987 while she was still in high school and has helped them claim several honors, including two World Cups (1991, 1999) and two Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004).

In the 2006 Four Nations Tournament, the US won their match against Norway, 3-1. Lilly contributed the opening goal, her 105th, which tied her with Michelle Akers for second place on the USWNT's all-time goal scoring list. She has since passed Akers to hold second place outright, scoring a total of 129 goals in 342 appearances.

30 November 1991 - Akers Aweigh

On 30 November 1991, the United States women's national team beat Norway 2-1 in the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup Final before a crowd of 63,000 at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, China.

The United States entered the Final after winning all of their previous matches in the tournament, including a 5-0 hammering of Brazil in the group stage, a 7-0 demolition of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals, and a 5-2 victory over Germany in the semifinals. Norway, meanwhile, had opened the tournament with a 4-0 defeat to hosts China, but then put together a string of wins to reach the Final, including a convincing 4-1 victory over Sweden in the semifinals.

US midfielder/forward Michelle Akers (pictured) entered the Final as the Cup's leading scorer with 8 (5 of which came in the win over Chinese Taipei). True to form, she gave the Americans the lead with a goal in the 20th minute, but Norway struck back with a 29th-minute equalizer from forward Linda Medalen. The match remained even until the 78th minute, when Akers pounced on a stray back pass from Norway's Tina Svensson and sidestepped keeper Reidun Seth to tap the ball into the open net. The goal gave the United States the win and upped Akers' tally to 10, making her the tournament's top scorer.

Norway got their revenge in 1995, when they eliminated the United States in the quarterfinals, 1-0, then beat Germany in the Final.

14 September 2000 - It's Not How You Start, It's How You Finish

On 14 September 2000, the Norwegian women's team kicked off the Olympics with a loss to the US, but they got their revenge in the final.

It was only the second time women's football had appeared at the Olympics. The United States won the first tournament in 1996, while Norway finished third. The two teams met in the semifinals, where the US advanced thanks to a 100th-minute golden goal from Shannon MacMillan.

They were drawn into the same group for the 2000 tournament and opened against each other at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. MacMillan was still on the team, but this time the damage was done by her teammates Tiffeny Milbrett (18') and Mia Hamm (24').

Despite the loss, Norway finished second to the US in the group and both teams advanced. They eventually reached the final, where Norway got a late goal from Dagny Mellgren (102') to win the gold medal 3-2 (a.e.t.).

30 August 2012 - Every Sports Movie Ever Made Just Became More Realistic

On 30 August 2012, Sarah Crilly scored on her Scotland debut--in a game that started with her as a spectator.

The 20-year old striker had appeared for Scotland's U-17 and U-19 teams and been training with the senior squad. That training earned her an invitation to attend a friendly against Norway at Dunfermline's East End Park. She was in the stands watching as Scotland took a 1-0 lead with a goal from Emma Mitchell in the thirteenth minute.

Ten minutes into the second half, manager Anna Signeul had to make two substitutions due to injuries, leaving only a defender and two goalkeepers on the bench. So when a third player had to come out a few minutes later, Signeul sent for Crilly, who was standing in line for a cup of tea when she was asked to suit up.

She entered in the 62nd minute, with Scotland still leading, but they soon fell behind after conceding twice to Norway's Isabell Herlovsen (70', 75'). Then, in the 85th minute, Crilly scored the equalizer to salvage a 2-2 draw.

She has since made only other appearance, playing in a 1-1 draw with Serbia in August 2013.

18 June 1995 - Norway Finds The Right Combination

On 18 June 1995, Norway won the Women's World Cup with a balanced mix of overpowering offense and stifling defense.

It was the second consecutive final for the Norwegians, who lost the inaugural final to the United States in 1991. When they returned to the tournament in 1995, they quickly set the standard of quality, beating Nigeria 8-0 in their first match.They went on to win every game on their way to the final, including a 1-0 defeat of the United States in the semi-finals, conceding only a single goal and scoring a total of 21.

Their opponents in the final, Germany, had done almost as well, losing only once--a 3-2 defeat to Sweden in the group stage.

Playing at the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm, Norway continued their demonstrate their balance, taking a 2-0 lead at the break with goals from midfielder Hege Riise (37') and forward Marianne Pettersen (pictured) (40'). It turned out to be the final margin, delivering the trophy that Norway had narrowly missed in 1991.

Since then, Norway have not finished higher than fourth, which they did in 1999 and 2007, while Germany won back-to-back trophies in 2003 and 2007.

5 June 1938 - Getting The Tough Job Out Of The Way Early

On 5 June 1938, holders Italy opened the World Cup with an extra-time win over Norway, the closest match they had in their successful bid to defend their title.

They had gone to extra time in the 1934 final before beating Czechoslovakia 2-1 in Rome with a 95th-minute goal from Angelo Schiavo. The Norwegians, meanwhile, were playing in their first World Cup match, having chosen not to participate in the 1930 or 1934 tournaments.

The two teams met in the first round at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, where the crowd of 19,000 watched the defending champions go up 1-0 after only two minutes with a goal from Pietro Ferraris (it wasn't the day's first goal, though, as France's Émile Veinante scored in the first minute of their game against Belgium, which started at the same time).

Italy kept their slim lead until the 83rd minute, when Arne Brustad scored the equalizer for Norway and sent the match into extra time. There, Silvio Piola struck in the 94th minute to put the Italians back in front and set the final margin at 2-1.

The win sent Italy into the quarterfinals, where they beat France 3-1. The ensuing 2-1 win over Brazil in the semifinals had the same margin as the Norway game, but Italy were up 2-0 until Brazil got a consolation goal three minutes before the final whistle to make the game seem closer than it really was. Then, in the final, Italy beat Hungary 4-2 to finish as the first two-time champions in World Cup history.

6 October 1987 - He Died With His Boots On

On 6 October 1987, Roald Jensen, widely considered Norway's greatest player, died while training with his old club, SK Brann. He was 44 years old.

Nicknamed "Knicksen," meaning "juggler," for his tremendous technical ability with the ball, Jensen joined Brann in 1956 as a youth player, then made his first-team debut in 1960 when he was 17 years old. He earned his first cap for the national team that same year.

In his first three seasons with Brann, they won the league twice (1962 and 1963), but his fourth season ended in relegation, prompting his move to Scotland, where he turned professional and became Heart of Midlothian's player from outside the UK.

He remained with Hearts for six seasons, then returned to Brann in 1971 and stayed until 1973, when a dispute with the team's manager led to Jensen's retirement in 1973 at the age of 30. He continued to be involved with the club, however, and was training with them when he collapsed and died.

Three years after his death, the Norwegian football association honored Jensen with the creation of the Knicksen Award, given annually to the best player in Norway's top flight. In 1995, Brann further celebrated him by putting a statue of him outside their stadium.

7 October 1917 - The Danish Dozen

On 7 October 1917, Denmark whipped Norway in a friendly 12-0 despite starting the match a man down.

The imbalance was caused by Danish defender Johannes Hansen, who--for reasons that remain unclear--chose to get a pre-match haircut that delayed the opening whistle. The Norwegians agreed to the delay, but Swedish referee Ernst Albihn went ahead and started the match after learning that Hansen had arrived at the stadium in Copenhagen, even though he was not on the pitch.

As it turned out, it didn't make any difference. Even with the brief disadvantage in numbers, Denmark's Michael Rohde scored in only the 6th minute. At the half-hour mark, they were up 4-0 with a hat-trick from Rohde's club teammate, Victor Klein (both played for B 93). Rohde then scored another before the break to stretch the lead to 5-0.

The second half was even worse for Norway. They managed to avoid another goal until Paul Berth's 68th-minute strike, but then the dam burst as Kjøbenhavns Boldklub forward Poul Nielsen (pictured) rattled off five straight goals in a span of just over ten minutes (70', 74', 76', 78', 80'). A final score from Alf Olsen in the 83rd minute ended the barrage and set the final margin at 12-0.

The match remains Norway's biggest defeat.

20 March 1994 - It's Also An Anagram For "A Gal Cup Rev"

On 20 March 1994, Norway and the United States, who had met in the 1991 Women's World Cup Final, met again in the Final of the first Algarve Cup. This time, Norway--who had lost that World Cup to the US--took their revenge with a 1-0 win.

The Algarve Cup, played in Algarve, Portugal, is an international invitational women's tournament played every year, joining the World Cup and the Olympics as the top three international women's competitions. Six teams participated in the first Cup: the two finalists, plus Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and hosts Portugal.

The teams were separated into two groups of three and played a round robin. The group winners advanced directly to the final, while the runners-up played each other for third place and the two bottom teams met in the fifth-place match. Both Norway and the United States topped their groups with two wins each. Norway rolled through their group with stunning ease, beating Finland 6-0 and Denmark 6-0, while the US dispatched Portugal 5-0, then narrowly beat Sweden 1-0.

Like the previous World Cup Final, which the US won 2-1, the first Algarve Cup Final was a closely-contested match. The two sides battled to a scoreless stalemate through the first half and most of the second before Norway's Ann Kristin ("Anka") Aarønes (pictured) scored the late match-winner, beating US keeper Brianna Scurry in the 84th minute.

The teams have met several more times in the Cup, including a dramatic third-place match in the 1995 Algarve Cup, with Norway winning on penalty kicks.

29 January 2006 - Eight May Be Enough, But Nine Is Better

On 29 January 2006, the United States beat Norway 5-0 in a friendly at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Three of the Yanks' goals were scored by forward Taylor Twellman, whose hat-trick was only the ninth in the history of the US national team.

Twellman, who plays his club ball for the MLS' New England Revolution, was making a push for inclusion in the 2006 World Cup side. Despite winning the MLS Golden Boot in 2005, he had scored only one previous international goal, in October 2005, since his call up to the senior team in 2002.

Although Twellman appeared to find his scoring touch, contributing another goal in a 3-2 friendly win over Japan in February 2006, he was not part of the side that traveled to Germany in 2006. That team managed to score only one goal--a 43rd-minute strike from Clint Dempsey against Ghana--and was eliminated from the tournament in the group stage. (They also benefitted from an Italy own goal to draw 1-1 with the eventual champions.)

Twellman rejoined the national team for their successful 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign, but his most recent US appearance came on 19 January 2008 and he is no longer listed in the team's player pool.

18 January 2006 - Lilly Travels To The Third Century

On 18 January 2006, United States forward/midfielder and captain Kristine Lilly became the first player--male or female--to reach 300 caps when she appeared against Norway in the Four Nations Tournament.

Lilly joined the USWNT in 1987 while she was still in high school and has helped them claim several honors, including two World Cups (1991, 1999) and two Olympic gold medals (1996, 2004).

In the 2006 Four Nations Tournament, the US won their match against Norway, 3-1. Lilly contributed the opening goal, her 105th, which tied her with Michelle Akers for second place on the USWNT's all-time goal scoring list. She has since passed Akers to hold second place outright, scoring a total of 129 goals in 342 appearances.

You can view highlights of Lilly's 300th international appearance here.

30 November 1991 - Akers Aweigh

On 30 November 1991, the United States women's national team beat Norway 2-1 in the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup Final before a crowd of 63,000 at Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou, China.

The United States entered the Final after winning all of their previous matches in the tournament, including a 5-0 hammering of Brazil in the group stage, a 7-0 demolition of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals, and a 5-2 victory over Germany in the semifinals. Norway, meanwhile, had opened the tournament with a 4-0 defeat to hosts China, but then put together a string of wins to reach the Final, including a convincing 4-1 victory over Sweden in the semifinals.

US midfielder/forward Michelle Akers (pictured) entered the Final as the Cup's leading scorer with 8 (5 of which came in the win over Chinese Taipei). True to form, she gave the Americans the lead with a goal in the 20th minute, but Norway struck back with a 29th-minute equalizer from forward Linda Medalen. The match remained even until the 78th minute, when Akers pounced on a stray back pass from Norway's Tina Svensson and sidestepped keeper Reidun Seth to tap the ball into the open net. The goal gave the United States the win and upped Akers' tally to 10, making her the tournament's top scorer.

Norway got their revenge in 1995, when they eliminated the United States in the quarterfinals, 1-0, then beat Germany in the Final.

1 August 1996 - Women's Football Goes Olympic

On 1 August 1996, the United States took the gold medal by defeating China 2-1 in the Womens' Final of the Summer Olympics before a crowd of 76,489 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. At the time, it was largest crowd in history to watch a women's sporting event.

It was the first time that women's football had been included in the Olympics. Eight teams qualified and were divided into two groups. The United States and China were in the same group and played each other to a 0-0 draw on 25 July. They both won their matches against group members Sweden and Denmark to finish in the group's top two spots, with China in first place on goal differential.

In the knockout rounds, the United States beat Norway 2-1 (a.e.t.) and China defeated Brazil 3-2 to set up the rematch in the gold medal game.

Midfielder Shannon MacMillan scored first to put the US ahead in the 19th minute, but China equalized in the 32nd minute with a goal from midfielder Sun Wen. In the 68th minute, US forward Tiffeny Milbrett again put the US ahead, then gave way to midfielder Tiffany Roberts three minutes later as the US side protected its lead to the final whistle, claiming the first ever gold medal in Olympic women's football.

15 June 1924 - They Come From The Land Of The Ice And Snow

On 15 June 1924, Sweden came from behind to win the inaugural match of the Nordic Football Championship, defeating Denmark 3-2 at the Idrætsparken in Copenhagen before a crowd of 25,000.

That first tournament was played over the course of five years, with each of the three participating countries - Sweden, Denmark, and Norway - playing each other team twice each year. Finland joined in 1929 at the start of the second tournament and both Iceland and the Faroe Islands joined in 2000.

In that opening match, Denmark took a 2-0 lead early in the second half with goals from Alf Olsen (2') and Ernst Nilsson (47'), before Sweden surged back. Striker Per Kaufeldt started the rally with a goal in the 56th minute and then 19-year-old Sven Rydell equalized in the 65th minute. Rydell completed his brace with the game winner in the 74th minute.

When the tournament ended in 1928, Rydell was the leading goal scorer with 15 (12 of which came in matches against Norway, including two hat-tricks and one match in which he scored four). Denmark claimed the first title, however, finishing with 7 wins, 2 draws, and only 1 loss to top the table with 16 points, three more than second-place finisher Sweden. Norway was last with a single point.