90min

England Women to Face Norway in December Friendly

By Jamie Spencer

England beat Norway at the 2019 Women's World Cup
England beat Norway at the 2019 Women's World Cup / Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
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England Women have added an international friendly against Norway in December to their 2020 schedule, following on from a previously announced clash with Germany at the end of October.

The game against Norway on Tuesday 1st December at Bramall Lane in Sheffield will only be the Lionesses’ second game since the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, which took place just before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March.

England's last games were at the 2020 SheBelieves Cup
England's last games were at the 2020 SheBelieves Cup / Wilf Thorne/ISI Photos/Getty Images

It will mark a third time that England have faced a strong Norwegian squad in recent memory. The Lionesses prevailed 3-0 in a World Cup quarter-final in June 2019, while the Scandinavians took some revenge by winning 2-1 in friendly 13 months ago.

England held a training camp during the September international break, providing manager Phil Neville an opportunity to look at a handful of new players called up for the first time.

“Today’s announcement completes our 2020 fixture schedule and I’m delighted with the strength of opposition we will be testing ourselves against,” Neville said.

“Our last camp in September was a chance for a number of younger players to integrate with the senior squad and show their potential to be part of England’s exciting journey over the coming years. It was also an opportunity to regroup and assess where players were following the long lay-off since the SheBelieves Cup.

Phil Neville oversaw a Lionesses training camp in September
Phil Neville oversaw a Lionesses training camp in September / Andrew Redington/Getty Images

“The remainder of the year will be all about pitting ourselves against top quality opposition so that we have a good measure of where we are at in terms of our development and progression.

“As we rebuild and reshape our squad, we need to consistently challenge ourselves against some of the world’s strongest teams to gauge our strengths and weaknesses and plot the work that’s needed between now and our next major tournament in order to be ready to win.”

Both of England’s upcoming international fixtures will be broadcast live on BBC television. The Germany game will be shown live on BBC2 at 3pm on Tuesday 27 October, with the Norway contest on BBC4 at 7.50pm on Tuesday 1 December.

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