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Harvard undergraduate Josefine Hasbo’s summer job: Starting for Denmark at the Women’s World Cup

Hasbo, who has excelled for the Crimson, is trying to help her native Denmark make an impression on the world stage.

Josefine Hasbo smiles and applauds the fans after Denmark's 1-0 win over China at the Women's World Cup. AP Photo/Gary Day

By Hayden Bird

July 26, 2023

3 minutes to read

For Josefine Hasbo, a rising junior at Harvard, the summer of 2023 is already shaping up to be an ideal one for a college undergraduate. She’s doing some traveling, and is simultaneously working to advance what might one day become her full-time job.

But unlike her peers who are backpacking across another continent, or might be working a summer internship, Hasbo is on a slightly different path. The 21-year-old is playing in the Women’s World Cup as a starting midfielder for her native Denmark.

In doing so, Hasbo is officially the first player to represent Harvard at a World Cup in the tournament’s illustrious history.

“It’s a dream come true,” she said in a recent interview. Denmark has already won its first game, defeating China 1-0. Hasbo played the full 90 minutes.

“We are obviously in a more favorable position now, taking the game [against China] into account,” she said of the Danish team.

Denmark, 13th in the world according to FIFA’s rankings of women’s teams, has been on a good run in the last 12 months. Wins over Japan, Norway, and Sweden showed the team’s promise heading into this summer’s World Cup. It’s given Hasbo and her teammates confidence.

“There have been some great games where I really felt that the team has shown a lot of character,” Hasbo explained. “We’ve been training, disciplined, and well prepared. I just hope that we can continue this momentum and hopefully carry that on into the next two games, which will be critical.”

The next test for the Danes will come from reigning European Champions England, who they face on Friday. As the 2023 edition of the Women’s World Cup is being held in Australia and New Zealand, the game will kick off at 4:30 a.m. ET. The final group stage game (against Haiti) takes place on Aug. 1 at 7 a.m. ET.

“Overall it’s been a quite good transition, and I think it’s such a huge experience to be in Australia,” Hasbo said. “It’s my first time [visiting], so I’m really enjoying the time here and hoping we’re able to create more memories with the team.”

Hasbo’s ascent to playing in a World Cup has been years in the making. Prior to coming to Harvard, she played professionally for Brøndby IF, which has won more domestic women’s league titles than any other club in Denmark.

Along with featuring for Brøndby in the UEFA Champions League (one of the most prestigious club competitions in the world), Hasbo also became one of the youngest players to make her national team debut when she came on as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Sweden at the 2020 Algarve Cup.

It wasn’t until a youth tournament in Dallas in 2015 that she even ended up on Harvard’s radar.

“It was my first time in the U.S. and I still remember talking to my mom about whether or not to attend this tournament because it was a quite expensive one,” she recalled. “We were joking that it could have been an investment since we heard from other players that there were some scouts there.”

This turned out to be accurate, as Hasbo was spotted by Harvard assistant coach Mike Calise.

“When I got back home, I received an email from Mike,” Hasbo remembered. “He reached out and said that he identified me as a top prospect for that class of 2020.”

Despite being targeted as a recruit, Hasbo said that she still had to clear the rigorous academic hurdles needed to gain entry into Harvard.

“Everything worked out and I feel lucky that Mike was just in Dallas at that point.”

Since arriving in Cambridge, Hasbo has excelled. She has eight goals and seven assists in 24 games, not a bad tally for a midfielder. Her intelligence and stamina have also received praise from the Harvard coaching staff.

“Harvard is such an amazing institution to be part of,” Hasbo added. “I’m really a proud student-athlete and I want to give huge credit to my coaching staff too, for enabling me to actually combine both my athletic and academic interest, and also for being able to be absent at times in the last semester or two because of the traveling with the [Danish] team.”

For now, she’s obviously focused on helping Denmark advance as far as possible at the World Cup. Depending on results (and whether or not Denmark manages to advance to the knockout round) a matchup with host nation Australia could take shape in the round of 16.

But for Hasbo, it’s just about enjoying the moment and not getting too far ahead of things.

“It’s such a tremendous honor and I love the opportunity to compete on the world stage,” she said. “I hope that it’s going to be a defining moment for my growth as a player and for the women’s game too.”