Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg snubs Norway World Cup squad
Friday 31 May 2019 10:47, UK
Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg has turned down a place in Norway's World Cup squad and maintained her boycott of the national team.
The Olympique Lyonnais striker, 23, has not featured for Norway since they were knocked out of the Women's European Championship in 2017 without scoring a goal.
Hegerberg, who became the inaugural winner of the women's Ballon d'Or award last December, has taken a stand against her home federation because of frustrations with the state of the women's game in Norway.
Coach Martin Sjogren said in February that it was unlikely Hegerberg would feature in the tournament, which runs from June 7 to July 7.
"We tried to solve it, we had meetings, but she decided not to play," Sjogren said on Thursday.
Hegerberg's sister, Paris St Germain midfielder Andrine, is also absent from the 23-player squad.
Chelsea's Maria Thorisdottir and Maren Mjelde are included in the squad, as is forward Caroline Graham Hansen, who has scored 14 goals in all competitions for Wolfsburg this season.
Norway kick off their World Cup campaign in Group A against Nigeria in Reims on June 8.
