The eagerly-awaited 2022 Women's Euros edges ever closer...

City will have 11 representatives at this summer’s tournament, sporting the colours of England, Sweden, Norway and Spain.

As we build-up to the highly-anticipated competition, which will be played across ten English venues from 6 to 31 July, including the Academy Stadium, we shine the spotlight on our Club stars.

Today, we place the focus on our Norwegian Blue Julie Blakstad...

BUY WOMEN’S EURO 2022 TICKETS

PLAYER PROFILE

Position: Midfielder/defender
Birthplace: Ottestad, Norway
Date of Birth: 27 August 2001
Age: 20
Height: 5’ 8” (177cm)

APPEARANCES

City: 13
Senior debut: v Tottenham Hotspur, 3 February 2022
Goals: 1

International: 13
Senior debut: v Wales, 27 October 2020
Senior goals: 2

Honours

City: Continental Cup winner (2021/22)

Individual: Toppserien Young Player of the Year (2020)

About Julie

New Year signing Blakstad will head into this summer’s tournament armed with plenty of insider knowledge on Group A opponents, England!

A January recruit, the versatile Norway international joined City eager to boost her reputation as one of the brightest young talents in the European game and believes she is already thriving from the experience of playing alongside and up against her Lionesses teammates.

Her peers are equally complimentary of her own talents - the multi-talented winger already having shown her worth. It is no secret that her versatility was a particularly attractive string to her bow for the several potential suitors who clambered for her signature.

She has already demonstrated those qualities for City by filling in at full-back but has also had chance to showcase her creative flair and skill, linking up well with wing wonder Lauren Hemp.

She made the move to Manchester with a notable goalscoring record, having bagged 17 goals in 35 appearances for Rosenborg, and has already opened her City account with a Goal of the Month contender, though whether she actually meant to score from her cross-shot, we may never know!

Shortlisted by UEFA as one of the ‘top ten players to watch in 2021’, City fans will definitely have a keen eye on Norway’s results, especially when the Grasshoppers and Lionesses lock horns in Matchday Two of the group stage!

The Scandinavian side are two-time winners of the tournament but have not progressed past the semi-final stage since their last triumph in 1993, despite enjoying Olympic and Algarve Cup success since.

Though still relatively new to her country’s senior set-up, the 20-year-old worked her way through the youth ranks before earning her first cap in October 2020, having impressed in her homeland with a string of impressive displays on the domestic scene. That very victory on her debut against Wales clinched Norway’s place at the Euros.

With a warm personality and a constant smile on her face, she has already endeared herself to the City faithful, while manager Gareth Taylor hailed her ‘a joy to work with’ - a positive influence who has settled in well and gives her all.

Within the first few months of her City career, she lifted her first piece of major silverware: the Continental Cup... Will she also claim a Euros medal before her 21st birthday in August?

Fixtures

Norway v Northern Ireland
Thursday 7 July, 20:00
St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton
BBC One

England v Norway
Monday 11 July, 20:00
American Express Community Stadium, Brighton
BBC

Austria v Norway
Friday 15 July, 20:00
Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton
BBC Three