Gunhild Bentzen Følstad (born 3 November 1981) is a Norwegian former

football defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

from

Overhalla Municipality Overhalla is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ranemsletta (also called ''Overhalla''). Other villages include Melen, Hunn, Skogmo ...

(near

Namsos Namsos may refer to: Places *Namsos Municipality, a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway *Namsos (town) Namsos is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of Namsos Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. ...

). The daughter of a football trainer, she played for

Trondheims-Ørn Rosenborg Ballklub Kvinner (previously known as Sportsklubben Trondheims-Ørn) is a Norwegian women's professional football club in Trondheim, Trøndelag. History The club was founded as a multi-sports club on May 18, 1917, and became a mem ...

and the

Norway women's national football team The Norway women's national football team () represents Norway in international Women's association football, football, and is controlled by the Norwegian Football Federation. The team is former European, World and Olympic champions and thus one ...

, making 76 appearances. She is a qualified physiotherapist and her hobbies are skiing, reading and music. Følstad captained Norway in one match against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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 The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but the outbreak o ...

in China in September 2007 Følstad played in matches watched by 50,000 spectators. Norway finished the tournament in 4th place. On 9 June 2008 she was named to the Norwegian roster for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

to be held in Beijing, China. On 6 August 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 The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Gunhild Følstad announced her retirement from football at the end of 2008 to pursue her career as a physiotherapist in

. Her partner is Hallvard Wågheim; their first child, a son, was born in Skage on 16 May 2010.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first.''

References

External links

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1981 births Living people Norwegian women's footballers Norway women's international footballers SK Trondheims-Ørn players Toppserien players Olympic footballers for Norway Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's association football defenders Sportspeople from Namsos People from Overhalla Footballers from Trøndelag 21st-century Norwegian sportswomen Norwegian physiotherapists {{Norway-footy-defender-stub