England meet Norway today in a football friendly being held at Wembley Stadium, England, 03/09/2014.
The two sides have met before 11 times with England winning 6 times, Norway 2 times, and there being 3 played out draws.
English forward Danny Welbeck sustained an injury in training on Tuesday, and is not expected to take part, while potential debutante midfielder Jack Colback will also miss due to injury.
15 year old midfield prodigy Martin Odegaard is expected to feature at some point for Norway, and with him already attracting Premier League interest, his will be a career worth watching.
England have now entered a rebuilding phase and the squad on show here today will be one of the youngest in quite some time. Brazil 2014 turned out to be a disappointed affair for the three lions, and they will be hoping that this friendly is the stepping stone to a new generation of success. Forward Wayne Rooney will be making his debut as captain of the English side in this fixture, and their next competitive fixture will be a UEFA Euro qualifier against Switzerland in Basel on Monday.
Norway failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and their previous manager, Egil Olsen, resigned due to this fact. He was replaced by Per-Mathias Hogmo, who has a strong playing and managerial history in Norway. They are currently ranked 53 in official FIFA rankings, and their next competitive match will be a UEFA Euro qualifier against Italy in Oslo on Tuesday.
Conclusion
With this friendly being the starting point of the UEFA Euro 2016 process, and both sides just coming together, it’s hard to expect anything of great heights here. We’ll hope for an England feel good factor and home ground advantage and take the 4/9 that Bet365 are offering for an English win.
Tip
England defeat Norway
