It's a beautiful thing - Hegerberg revels in hat-trick on Norway return

Ada Hegerberg revelled in making an "incredibly beautiful" return to Norway duty by scoring a hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Kosovo.

Inaugural Women's Ballon d'Or winner Hegerberg opted against playing for her country in 2017 due to a perceived lack of respect for female players from the Norwegian Football Federation (NFF).

The 26-year-old reversed her decision following the appointment of a new NFF president, returning with the European Championship just three months away.

And she made an emphatic comeback, nodding in Caroline Graham Hansen's cross for the first of two goals in the space of two first-half minutes.

Hegerberg completed her hat-trick on the hour mark to help keep Norway three points clear of Belgium in World Cup qualifying Group F. Frida Maanum and Ereleta Memeti were also on target in Sandefjord.

60. min: Hattrick for Hegerberg Spilles igjennom av Bøe Risa og smeller ballen i mål, mellom beina på keeper. 4-1. #norkos pic.twitter.com/SgWGeoklvL
— Fotballandslaget (@nff_landslag) April 7, 2022

"It is a pleasure to play for the national team again. It is an incredibly beautiful thing," Hegerberg said, who moved onto 41 international goals.

"It's a new chapter. It was very good to play at home again. It's been a great day."

Asked how long she envisaged representing Norway for and whether she could surpass Isabell Herlovsen as the nation's all-time leading scorer with 67 goals, she replied: "One match at a time! But I'm 26 years old. I expect to be in the game for a while longer.

"For as long as possible. As long as I can remain a leading player in the game and have the motivation to keep going, I will continue."