Norway's win, combined with a victory for hosts Switzerland against Iceland later in the evening, guaranteed their progress to the next round as Group A winners, making them the first team to book a place in the knockout stages of Euro 2025.

Having already defeated the Swiss in their opening fixture, they were made to work hard for a second victory against a Finland side who also triumphed in their first game.

It initially looked like Norway – with Reiten starting on the left flank for her country – would have things all their own way. Caroline Graham Hansen’s cutback from the byline was diverted in for an own goal by Eva Nystrom before it could reach the Chelsea winger at the back post, giving Norway the lead after just three minutes.

However, Finland equalised before half-time and then took the initiative, hitting the post after the break. But Norway had hit the woodwork twice themselves, while it needed a fingertip save from the Finland keeper to deny Reiten a spectacular overhead-kick goal after another dangerous Graham Hansen delivery.

In the end, the bounce went in Norway’s favour again, to give them a winning goal six minutes from the end. Reiten fed the ball to Graham Hansen on the right and, following a slaloming run into the box, on this occasion her looping cross came off the inside of the post and into the back of the net.

They saw out the victory with vice-captain Reiten wearing the armband. That left Norway top of Group A on six points after two games, awaiting the outcome of Switzerland’s match against Iceland to confirm their top spot and progress into the quarter-finals, needing anything other than an Iceland win to go through with a game to spare.

That result duly went their way too, as Chelsea's new goalkeeper Peng kept her first clean sheet at a major tournament to help the Swiss to a 2-0 victory in relative comfort.

Although it wasn't until the 90th minute that Switzerland got their second goal through Alayah Pilgrim to finally put the game to bed, they had been on top even before Geraldine Reuteler fired them into the lead in the second half, with Peng rarely troubled throughout.

Those two results leave Norway with an unassailable three-point lead at the top of the group, due to their superior head-to-head record against both Switzerland and Finland, who are level on three points with the hosts edging ahead on goal difference, before they meet in their final game.

That decisive fixture takes place at 8pm next Thursday. Norway's guaranteed first place takes all the pressure off their last group fixture, against already eliminated Iceland at the same time. They can start to look ahead to their quarter-final on Wednesday 16 July, which will be against the second-placed team from Group B, currently Italy.