Norwegians Battered, but Japan Is Beaten

All it takes is one play to turn a private eye into a broken nose.

When Linda Medalen’s nose smacked into a Japanese player’s elbow Saturday evening, the Norwegian captain crumpled to the ground clutching her hands to her face in pain.

She wobbled off the field on rubbery legs, supported by the team doctor and trainer, and was not on hand to see Norway ease into the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup with a 4-0 Group C victory over Japan in front of 34,256 rain-drenched fans.

“We have taken X-rays of the break and it could possibly be a fracture, but if it is, the nose is not out of position, it is just cracked,” said Agnar Tegnander, the team doctor.

“We are now going to take a scan, and if its shows a fracture we will make her a mask and she can play with that [against Sweden on Wednesday in San Jose].”

Medalen, who used to be a policewoman in Oslo and now is a private investigator, showed up in the media mixed zone with her head wrapped in bandages and sporting sunglasses.

As flashbulbs popped, the defender protested light-heartedly to photographers when they asked her to remove the sunglasses.

“Do I have to?” she said. “I look like the elephant woman. You know how I am, I am more concerned about my looks [than the broken nose].”

The irony is that it was Medalen who clattered into the United States’ Michelle Akers on Feb. 14 in San Jose in the FIFA all-star game and fractured Akers’ cheekbone. Now, she has suffered a similar injury.

Striker Ann Kristin Aarones also came out of the game for Norway early on after cutting her head in a collision. But not before scoring her third goal of the tournament and giving Norway a 3-0 lead after only 36 minutes.

“It is only a small cut, it should not be any problem,” Norway Coach Per-Mathias Hogmo said.

Dagny Mellgren closed out the scoring in the 61st minute when she headed in a cross from Unni Lehn, who worked tirelessly all night on a sodden field.