Norway trip a chance for England to impress new boss Hodgson
Published:In a preparatory fixture for Euro 2012, England travel to Oslo to meet Norway on Saturday, priced at 1/1 to win Roy Hodgson’s first game in charge.
The Three Lions will hope to gain a victory that would see them take momentum into Euro 2012, even with an upcoming home fixture against Belgium still to come prior to the tournament.
Remarkably, Saturday’s clash will represent the first time the two countries have ever met, and Norway are 5/2 to come out on top on their own patch.
It is 11/5 about the draw meanwhile, but an England squad eager to impress ahead of Euro 2012 would hope instead for a somewhat dominant triumph.
A number of squad inclusions have a point to prove, particularly at international level, whilst some will simply be eager to repay the faith Roy Hodgson has shown in them.
Stewart Downing’s selection attracted much scrutiny, whilst Andy Carroll’s late season form for Liverpool showed him to be a worthy inclusion, but some still need convincing regarding his England credentials.
Carroll may get the chance to answer his critics from the off on Saturday, as England may opt to utilise a system which doesn’t employ Wayne Rooney, amidst the forward’s suspension for the first two group games in Poland and Ukraine.
It should be noted that England have not lost in their last five on their travels, winning four, so they are in particularly impressive form away from Wembley prior to their Norway trip.
They can also count four wins from their last six outings in all competitions home and away, and with one of these coming over World champions Spain, the Three Lions would seem to have too much for their opponents this weekend.
Whilst turning in an impressive effort in attempting to qualifying for Euro 2012 meanwhile, Norway fell just short, and with the hosts having little to play for in the upcoming game, England look worth investment at 1/1.
