Norway name captain for England game
NTB/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 2 Sep, 2014 CET.
Updated: Tue 2 Sep 2014 20:45 CET
National coach Per-Mathias Høgmo has named Per Ciljan Skjelbred as Norway's new captain on Tuesday ahead of the friendly against England.
Høgmo knows the midfielder well from his time as coach for Rosenborg FK and from previous matches as Norway coach. The coach announced on Tuesday Skjelbred will be Norway captain if he plays against England at Wembley on Wednesday night. Skjelbred takes the captaincy following the retirement of Norway's veteran captain Brede Hangeland. Last week Wayne Rooney was named as the name England skipper by Roy Hodgson.
Skjelbred will lead a Norwegian side keen to impress against an England team playing their first match since their disappointing early exit from the World Cup in Brazil.
Høgmo has named eight new players in his squad, but excluded 15-year-old Martin Ødegaard. The young prodigy will play in the Under 21 national match even though he impressed while playing in his first international cap and a goalless encounter at the Viking Stadium against UAE last week.
A record low attendance at Wembley is expected on Wednesday night. Under 14,000 tickets have been sold for the game, reported NTB. Although the English Football Association believe between 35,000 and 40,000 spectators will attend, the Guardian confirmed on Tuesday. The lowest attendance recorded was on May 23,1989, when only 15,628 fans watched Chile play England. Wembley can seat 90,000. England manager Roy Hogson said on the FA's official website: "Norway will be in the same situation as we are. They've had some very good players - Morten Gamst Pedersen, Brede Hangeland - a group of players who have decided to retire or who are reaching the end. They'll be hard to beat and it'll be an exceptionally tough game." Norway will next play Italy on September 9th, their first qualifying game for the European Championship to be held in France in 2016.
Comments
See Also
Høgmo knows the midfielder well from his time as coach for Rosenborg FK and from previous matches as Norway coach. The coach announced on Tuesday Skjelbred will be Norway captain if he plays against England at Wembley on Wednesday night.
Skjelbred takes the captaincy following the retirement of Norway's veteran captain Brede Hangeland.
Last week Wayne Rooney was named as the name England skipper by Roy Hodgson.
Skjelbred will lead a Norwegian side keen to impress against an England team playing their first match since their disappointing early exit from the World Cup in Brazil.
Høgmo has named eight new players in his squad, but excluded 15-year-old Martin Ødegaard. The young prodigy will play in the Under 21 national match even though he impressed while playing in his first international cap and a goalless encounter at the Viking Stadium against UAE last week.
A record low attendance at Wembley is expected on Wednesday night. Under 14,000 tickets have been sold for the game, reported NTB. Although the English Football Association believe between 35,000 and 40,000 spectators will attend, the Guardian confirmed on Tuesday.
The lowest attendance recorded was on May 23,1989, when only 15,628 fans watched Chile play England. Wembley can seat 90,000.
England manager Roy Hogson said on the FA's official website: "Norway will be in the same situation as we are. They've had some very good players - Morten Gamst Pedersen, Brede Hangeland - a group of players who have decided to retire or who are reaching the end. They'll be hard to beat and it'll be an exceptionally tough game."
Norway will next play Italy on September 9th, their first qualifying game for the European Championship to be held in France in 2016.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.