Gunhild Følstad
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Gunhild Bentzen Følstad | ||
Date of birth | November 3, 1981 | ||
Place of birth | Namsos, Norway[1] | ||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Youth career | |||
Overhalla IL | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2000–2008 | Trondheims-Ørn | ||
International career‡ | |||
2002–2008 | Norway | 76 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2008-09-06 |
Gunhild Bentzen Følstad (born 3 November 1981) is a Norwegian former football defender from Overhalla near Namsos. The daughter of a football trainer, she played for Trondheims-Ørn and the Norwegian Women's National Football Team for which she made 76 appearances. She is a qualified physiotherapist and her hobbies are skiing, reading and music.
Følstad captained Norway in one match against China in the Four-Nations Tournament in Guangzhou in January 2006. In a match played in pouring rain China won 3-1.
She played as a central defender for her club and was a strong, quick and reliable player who played equally well at right- or left-back in the national team. Her throw-in to the six-yard box from the sideline was a useful weapon.
At the 2007 Women's World Cup in China in September 2007 Følstad played in matches watched by 50,000 spectators. Norway finished the tournament in 4th place.
On June 9, 2008 she was named to the Norwegian roster for the 2008 Summer Olympics to be held in Beijing, China.[2] On August 6, 2008, as a left-back in an attacking position, she provided the pass for the 1–0 goal by Leni Larsen Kaurin in Norway's 2–0 defeat of the United States in Qinhuangdao, which was then the quickest goal in the history of the tournament. The team reached the quarter finals where they lost to Brazil.
Gunhild Følstad announced her retirement from football at the end of 2008 to pursue her career as a physiotherapist in Namsos. Her partner is Hallvard Wågheim; their first child, a son, was born in Skage on May 16, 2010.[3]
International goals
- Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first.[4]
# | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition | Scored |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 May 2006 | Storstadion, Sandefjord | Serbia | 3–0 | 2007 FIFA World Cup Qual. | 1 |
References
- ^ "Gunhild Følstad". Sports Reference. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
- ^ Drømmen gikk i oppfyllelse
- ^ Announcement in Namdals Avisa
- ^ Fardal, Eirik (11 May 2006). "Norge lekte med Serbia" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
External links
- Gunhild Følstad on X
- Gunhild Følstad – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Norwegian national team profile Template:No icon
- Trondheims-Ørn club profile Template:No icon
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Norwegian women's footballers
- Norway women's international footballers
- SK Trondheims-Ørn players
- Toppserien players
- Olympic footballers of Norway
- Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players
- 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players
- Norwegian women's football biography stubs
- Norwegian football defender stubs