Thea Bjelde

Last updated

Thea Bjelde
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-06-05) 5 June 2000 (age 25)
Place of birth Sogndal, Norway
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) [1]
Position(s) Midfielder, right-back
Team information
Current team
 VfL Wolfsburg
Number 2
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015 Sogndal
2016 Kaupanger 11 (9)
2016–2021 Arna-Bjørnar 62 (2)
2021–2025 Vålerenga 88 (14)
2025– VfL Wolfsburg 1 (0)
International career‡
2015 Norway U15 4 (4)
2016 Norway U16 12 (2)
2017 Norway U17 11 (0)
2017–2019 Norway U19 21 (1)
2021–2022 Norway U23 4 (0)
2022– Norway 30 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:15, 9 September 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 July 2025

Thea Bjelde (born 5 June 2000) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as defender for Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg and the Norway national team. [2]

Contents

Club career

Early career

Bjelde started her career in Sogndal, where she distinguished herself as the only girl on the under-14 team in the Norway Cup. [3] In early 2016, she joined Kaupanger in the 2nd division.

Arna-Bjørnar (2016–2021)

As a 16-year-old, she was brought to Arna-Bjørnar in the Toppserien. In 2018, the breakthrough came when Bjelde had a fantastic season, and was an important piece in the team that won bronze in the Toppserien. [4]  She was voted player of the year in Arna-Bjørnar, and nominated for breakthrough of the year in 2022 in the Toppserien. [5] [6]

In early 2019, she suffered a cruciate ligament injury that put her out of football for a year. [7]  After returning from the injury, she bounced back strongly the following year, and was rewarded by being selected for the senior national team for the first time. [8]  She was also named player of the year in Arna-Bjørnar in 2020. [9]  As a 21-year-old, she was appointed captain in Arna-Bjørnar. [10]

Vålerenga (2021–)

On 18 July 2021, she signed for Vålerenga. [11]  With Vålerenga, she helped win the cup championship in her first season, and she was voted best on the pitch in the cup final against Sandviken. [12]

In the summer of 2023, she extended her contract with Vålerenga. [13] She was an important part of the team that took series gold for Vålerenga. Bjelde was selected for the "team of the year" and nominated for "player of the year" in 2023 Toppserien.

International career

Bjelde has international matches for U15, U16, U17, U19, U23, and the senior national team for Norway. [14]

She was selected for the senior Norwegian national team for the first time in October 2020.

After a decline in the Norwegian squad, Bjelde was called up to the team that was going to the European Championship in England 2022. [15]

Bjelde made her debut for the senior national team on 7 October 2022, in a private international match against Brazil at Ullevaal Stadium. [16]

On 19 June 2023, she was included in the 23-player Norwegian squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. [17] She played in all games.

On 16 June 2025, Bjelde was called up to the Norway squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025. [18]

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.5 April 2024 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 3–04–0 UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying

References

  1. ↑ "Profile of T. Bjelde". haxthaus.com. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Thea Bjelde Stats, Goals, Records, Assists, Cups and more". FBref.com. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Her herjer Thea (14) med gutta i Norway Cup". www.dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 7 February 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  4. ↑ Fotballkvinner, Norske (15 February 2021). "Fotballvirtuosen fra Sogndal: Thea Bjelde(20)". Norske Fotballkvinner (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Øren, Keth (10 September 2020). "Slo tilbake etter kneskade - no får Thea stipend". Sogn Avis (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "Disse talentene kan bli kåret til "årets gjennombrudd"". www.aftenposten.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 22 November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Christensen, Stine (5 May 2019). "(+) Nye skader hos Arna-Bjørnar: – Fryktelig!". Bergensavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Johnsen, Jonas (12 October 2020). "(+) Tatt ut på landslaget: – Skjønte ingenting da jeg ble bombardert med meldinger!". Bergensavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Arna Bjørnar Toppfotball - Thea Bjelde mottok i dag prisen for Arna-Bjørnars beste spiller i 2020 sesongen 🎉 Thea er kjent som en ekte kriger og spilte alle obligatoriske kamper i 2020. Etter sin korsbåndskade i 2019 kom hun tilbake på banen og gjorde en kjempeinnsats som ble kronet med uttak til A-landslaget og årets spiller i AB. For et 'comeback' - GRATULERER | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Tørre, Michael (20 June 2021). "Fra skademareritt til kaptein. Nå har Thea (21) et klart mål: - Skal jobbe beintøft". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  11. ↑ Dalsegg, Jens August (18 July 2021). "Thea Bjelde har signert!". Vålerenga Damefotball (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  12. ↑ Fotballforbund, Norges. "Vålerenga er cupmester: - Det er fantastisk". fotball.no - Norges Fotballforbund (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  13. ↑ NTB (25 June 2023). "Toppserien: Thea Bjelde forlenger kontrakten med Vålerenga". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  14. ↑ Fotballforbund, Norges. "Thea Bjelde - Profil". fotball.no - Norges Fotballforbund (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  15. ↑ "Ny VIF-spiller in i EM-troppen". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Sander, Christian Grieg (7 October 2022). "Riise-smell i pinlig tap mot Brasil – Norge ydmyket". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  17. ↑ updated, Jessy Parker Humphreys last (6 June 2023). "Norway Women's World Cup 2023 squad: full 23-player team". fourfourtwo.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  18. ↑ "Her er Norges EM-tropp" [Here is Norway's European Championship squad] (in Norwegian). Norwegian Football Federation. 16 June 2025. Archived from the original on 16 June 2025. Retrieved 16 June 2025.
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