Norway’s Maren Mjelde just scored the gølazø of the World Cup (thus far) and helped the Norwegians hold tournament favorites Germany to a surprise 1-1 draw in the process.
Germany looked terrifying in its 10-0 opening-round victory over the Ivory Coast—the game, honestly, wasn’t that close—and controlled much the first half against Norway, but in the 61st minute Mjelde equalized off of a free kick the likes of which you will rarely see.
I mean, watch the thing: Mjelde puts it in the most unreachable spot humanly possible. The goal was actually set up by a foul by the Germans that appeared to save either a penalty or an easy goal. Isabell Herlovsen was about to go through on goal when Saskia Bartusiak tackled her illegally inches outside of the penalty area.
Mjelde had seen a penalty shot saved in Norway’s opening-round 4-0 win over Thailand, who the Germans play next. Fortunately for the Norwegians, Mjelde made no mistake this time around, blasting the free kick into the top left-hand corner of the net.
The German’s brutal opening round win means they will still almost certainly advance in the top spot in Group B, but the Norwegians have easily cemented their never-in-doubt status in position number two by surprising the world’s top-ranked team.
