Filed under: Football, Match Reports
Daniel Sturridge and Danny Rose helped give Stuart Pearce's young lions the perfect send off as England overcame Norway at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium.In their final European Championship warm-up before heading to Denmark next week, Chelsea striker Sturridge opened the scoring with an easy tap-in after nine minutes.
And Tottenham's Rose doubled the lead with a terrific individual effort five minutes before
half-time.
England face a testing opening match against Spain next Sunday as they attempt to go one better than two years ago when they reached the final only to lose to Germany in Sweden.
But despite the controversial absence of Jack Wilshere and Andy Carroll, Pearce will be quietly confident his young pups can do the business this time after a decent performance against Norway.
England were forced to endure a couple of scares but they rarely looked like losing once Sturridge, who finished the domestic season with eight goals in 12 Premier League games on loan at Bolton, had broken the deadlock from close range.
The midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Fabrice Muamba and Jack Rodwell have more than 300 top-flight appearances between them while Phil Jones and Chris Smalling demonstrated what a solid partnership in the centre of defence they are.
Even the substitutes bench was packed with experience, five of the nine at Southampton having made 63 Premier League starts between them during 2010-11.
Sturridge opened the scoring after Ryan Bertrand got behind the visitors defence to roll the ball
across the six-yard area.
It was certainly not all one-way traffic, keeper Frank Fielding producing an excellent stop to keep out Valon Berisha's shot which deflected off team-mate Mads Stokkelien.
But England survived that 20th minute scare to double their lead five minutes before half-time when Rose cut in from the left before curling a delightful 16-yard effort into the top corner.
Pearce made seven changes in the second half, which England dominated despite failing to add to their lead.
REACTION:
Pearce said England depart for Denmark in good spirits:
"I said to the players if someone had offered me the week I have just had then I would have taken it. The training in the build-up to this game and the camaraderie I saw, together with this result and a clean sheet, means we head for Denmark in good spirits."
On the performance:
"There were some really good points, but we know we didn't play particularly well as a team. That will improve and it has to improve. Tom Cleverley and Henri Lansbury contributed significantly to our improved second half performance. We'll work on the things we didn't do well."
On the selection headache he now faces ahead of next week's opening game with Spain:
"I've got a couple of days to think about it. There are one or two who have staked a claim, but it will take 23 players to get us over the line."
On this group of players compared to the class of 2009 that reached the final:
"I was asked a question how good this group of players is compared to the group two years ago. The honest answer is I don't know yet. I'm not sure how good we are compared to the last group, but I'm sure we'll find out in the next two or three weeks."
On injuries:
"Kieran Gibbs has a slight tweak on his ankle but it's not too much of a problem."
WHAT IT MEANS:
England emerged from their final game without suffering any serious injuries. Indeed, Pearce's biggest problem ahead of next Sunday's opener is to decide who will start with and who doesn't. He has so many options available that there are bound to be some disappointed faces when he finalises his line-up to take on Spain. For example, Connor Wickham, the in-demand Ipswich striker, did not get a look in against Norway. There is no doubt Pearce's squad is packed with lots of exciting individual talent. The key to whether they return from Denmark with silverware is whether they can perform as an effective unit.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/06/05/england-under-21-2-norway-under-21-0-pearces-young-lions-sign/
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