England continue their preparations for this summer's European Championships with a trip to Norway.
Young Lions looking to get back to winning ways
England continue their preparations for this summer's European Championships with a trip to Norway.
The Young Lions head to Sandefjord looking to bounce back from a rare defeat last time out.
A 3-2 setback against an experienced Ecuador outfit in February brought a long unbeaten run to an abrupt end.
Stuart Pearce will not be unduly concerned by that result, though, and knows his side are in good shape ahead of the major international tournament.
England will head to Sweden in June as one of the favourites to land the European crown.
However, in order to live up those expectations, they know momentum must be built up in their next two fixtures.
Following Friday's date with Norway, Pearce's side face a tough test against France at the City Ground on Tuesday.
Their build-up to the friendly double-header has been far from ideal, though, with a spate of injuries and withdrawals ravaging the squad.
Withdrawals
Theo Walcott was forced to pull out after picking up an injury while training with Arsenal and skipper Steven Taylor is also sidelined after sustaining a knock in Newcastle's last outing against the Gunners.
Spurs star Aaron Lennon was promoted to Fabio Capello's senior squad, while Wolves striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake is another to have fallen foul of injury.
Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross and Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor were added to the squad to help cover for the causalities, only to then be forced out themselves.
With Manchester City centre-half Micah Richards also picking up a problem, Pearce has been left with a threadbare 17-man squad.
Inexperienced
Norway are likely to use the game as an opportunity to blood new talent, with no European Championship ahead for them.
They could only finish third in their qualifying group and have endured a difficult period at this level of late.
They did spring a surprise by holding a strong Spanish side to a 1-1 draw in February, but are not expected to push England too hard.
Their side will consist mainly of inexperienced domestic-based players, with Heerenveen forward Tarik Elyounoussi the only player currently plying his trade abroad.
