Norway have been placed in Group A alongside the Philippines, Switzerland and New Zealand who they meet for the tournament curtain raiser in Auckland on Thursday, with kick-off scheduled for 8am (UK time)

Mjelde, who signed a contract extension with Chelsea at the end of the 2022/23 season, attended Norway’s pre-match press conference where she discussed putting the past behind them and emphasised the excitement within the squad on the eve of their first group fixture.

Despite finishing as runners-up at the 2013 European Championships and quarter-finalists at the 2019 World Cup, Norway struggled at the Euros last summer but Mjelde says the beauty of football is that it can provide new opportunities.

‘In 2013, it was a really good tournament for us as a nation but we haven’t really done well after that,’ Mjelde said. ‘The World Cup in 2019 was a good tournament but it came to an end against England in the quarter-final. We know what happened last year but this is the good thing about football, you get new chances and new experiences.’

There is a blend of experienced players and World Cup debutants within the Norway squad. Mjelde stressed the team’s desire to perform well and turn glimpses of their quality into consistency at this summer’s tournament.

‘We are really looking forward to what is ahead and we have a good mix with some new players who have never played tournament games and many who have played them before. We always want to try and do well for Norway; maybe we haven’t done that in the last couple of tournaments but there have still been good moments. Hopefully, we can do great this summer.’

Preparation for a major tournament is key and Mjelde believes Norway have approached this in the right way, pitting themselves against a variety of opponents as they try to put themselves in the best position to open the tournament on Thursday.

‘We have travelled to a new part of the world, a new continent and that affects our preparation. We have played lots of different opponents from across the world and I feel like we have prepared very well. We are looking forward to it and we are excited.’