Cathinka Tandberg: The Norwegian goalscoring machine

Cathinka Tandberg is a 21-year-old forward from Oslo, Norway, whose career is just getting started. After being spotted playing for Hammarby IF, she has completed the deadline day signing to Tottenham Hotspur.

Tandberg racked up an impressive tally of goals during her time in Norway and Sweden, in total scoring 54 goals in all competitions, including last-minute winners in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Her career started out at just five years old, playing for IL Heming in Oslo. She played for a few boys’ teams before starting to play on the girls’ team. In 2018, Tandberg moved to Stabæk to continue her development where she featured regularly for the reserve squad, but was unable to break into the first team. During this time, she was scouted by Lyn and completed a move there in 2020.

The young forward spent three seasons at Lyn, making 55 appearances and scoring five goals.

At just 19 years old, Tandberg moved away from Norway for the first time. She made the move to Sweden to play in the Damallsvenskan for Linköpings FC. She left her mark on the Swedish league when she scored on her debut against KIF Orebro DFF and went on to win the Golden Boot, finishing the season on 19 goals in 26 league games, and seven assists making 26 goal involvements.

The following season’s performances caught the eye of Hammarby IF. Although she made the move mid-campaign, her form was not affected, and she scored on her debut in an 8-0 win over Trelleborgs. However, it wasn’t the league that impressed the eyes of watchful viewers, it was her 95^th minute winner over Benfica in the UEFA Women’s Champions League qualifying round, helping her side progress to the group stages for the first time ever.

Tandberg has also impressed on the international stage. She was named in the Norway U19 squad for the Under-19 European Championships in July 2022 and started every game for her country. She also received a call-up to the senior squad ahead of Norway’s 2023/24 UEFA Women’s Nations League fixtures against France.

Joining Spurs has been a childhood dream for Cathinka Tandberg after visiting White Hart Lane at just 10 years old, and it seems like her start in North London has started the way she hoped after assisting the first goal and scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win against Everton for the first away game of the 2024/25 season.