Norway 0-1 England
Roy Hodgson started his reign as England's manager
with a 1-0 win. Not bad, not bad, especially since this has been the first
time England beat the Scandinavian side in 32 years. It would be Ashley Young who scored the lone
goal in this game, earning his seventh international goal after finishing a
solo run.
Hodgson's side almost took the lead five minutes into
the match. Downing whipped a cross to
Carroll at the near post, but the striker's header went wide. The Liverpool man made his presence known and
at the 8' minute mark, he passed the ball to Young, who went on a tremendous
run, weaving past Norway's defense and fired the ball with a left-footed shot
to the corner.
The hosts eventually found their groove and began to
build up some possession of their own.
However, they weren't creating any clear chances. Norway's Riise was England's main threat in
the second half, firing another ball across goal – England barely clearing, if at all the shot – and the ball fell to Christian
Grindheim. Grindheim caused a scare, but
he missed, much to England's relief, the shot going over the edge of the area.
Hodgson then gave Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain his first
England cap with just over 15 minutes remaining. The Arsenal youngster almost made an immediate
impact, teaming up with Theo Walcott inside the box, but the Scandinavians
somehow managed to clear the ball.
England seeks to continue its momentum going into
Euro 2012 and will host Belgium nine days before its first group game against
France.
written by Gail Hidalgo
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