19 November 2023 , 18:50
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Denmark and Everton star Nicoline Sorensen has announced her shock retirement from football at the age of just 26.
Sorensen signed a new deal with the Merseyside club just this summer, and looked poised to play a part for last season's sixth-place WSL finishers. The forward joined from Brondby in 2020, and scored twice for her club last season.
The Danish international has featured regularly this season, and started the 2-2 draw with Bristol City on Sunday. However, after the game, the club confirmed she had informed them of her plans to walk away from the game and will do so in December.
“Nicoline has been a key part of our squad over the past three years and signed a new one-year deal in the summer," Everton Women CEO Alan McTavish said in a statement shared on the club's website. “However, she recently informed us of her plans to retire from professional football and, after careful consideration, we have reluctantly taken the decision to release her from her contract.
“She will remain part of the Women's Senior Team squad until our game with Manchester City on 17 December.Whatever Nicoline’s next steps are, on behalf of everyone at Everton, I would like to wish her all the very best for the future.”
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Sorensen was part of Denmark's squad at the 2023 Women's World Cup, coming off the bench in a narrow group stage defeat against England. However, according to her club, she has now decided to 'pursue other interests' outside football.
Are you surprised by Sorensen's decision? Have your say in the comments section
Nicoline Sorensen played for Everton against Bristol City on Sunday (Getty Images)Everton missed a chance to move clear of relegation danger on Sunday when they hosted bottom-of-the-table Bristol City. They led twice, through Martina Piemonte and Megan Finnigan, but their opponents also netted once in each half, earning a late point through Amalie Thestrup.
“It’s very frustrating,” Everton manager Brian Sorensen said. “I think both goals were avoidable. It’s just about managing it better.
“We had enough chances to score more but right now I’m just a bit irritated and frustrated with the way they got in, and that we were not clinical enough to hurt them. That’s my feeling. It’s the luck we have at the moment, but it’s only up to us to get out of it by continuing to work hard.
“It’s very frustrating that we had the chances to score more, but it was also tough conditions to play the game," the boss added. "It became scrappy and the ref made it more scrappy with some of the decisions."