Football has a habit of it leaving scars. There are the literal, physical ones that line the flesh of those who play it, those left behind long after stitches or studs have been removed from skin. When it comes to emotional scars, we tend to think of fans carrying the weight of so many near misses, and joke about supporting a team for your sins.
It's in the interest of footballers, however, to leave painful losses behind them — they'll be far better players if they can forget the penalty miss that cost them a title or the time they let their marker get away from them in a cup final. Yet, there are some losses that cut so deep, have such an impact that there will always be a reminder left behind.
For the Norwegian women's national team, the Monday night 8-0 loss to England in Euro 2022's Group A was the type of defeat that they may never recover from.
There, of course, had been tears after Norway's group stage exit at the 2017 Euros, just as there was no way of quieting the sobs after the same team lost the 2013 final of the same competition. But Monday was different. It was the type of loss to rock all of Norwegian football — it was not just the biggest margin of failure by any team at a Euros, male or female, but it was the single biggest loss in the history of the Norway women's national team.
As the players spoke to the media after the match, still clad in sweat and shame-soaked kits, there was no getting away from the emotion that rolled off each member of the squad who had to face the press. When speaking to ESPN, Norway captain Maren Mjelde described the feeling as "[her] heart bleeding a little."
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