Hope Powell has named her squad of 26 players for the friendly with Norway.
England v Norway
International Friendly
7.45pm, Thursday 23 April 2009
The ProStar Stadium, Shrewsbury Town FC
Tickets are £5 for adults and £2.50 for concessions
Ticket Hotline 01743 273 943
Live on Setanta Sports 2
As part of the continued preparation for the European Championship in Finland this August, England face an international friendly against Norway at Shrewsbury Town’s ProStar Stadium on St. George’s Day.
Carly Telford, Laura Basset, Rachel Williams, Jodie Handley and Gemma Davidson come in for the game against Norway and will take their place in a squad including all English players currently playing in the WPSL. Arsenal’s Faye White is still recovering from a knee injury and will not make the game against Norway.
The Three Lions return to Shrewsbury for the first time since November 2007 when a Karen Carney goal secured victory over Spain in a Euro 2009 Qualifier, and this forthcoming game is sure to provide them with a stern test ahead of the Finals in Finland. It also marks their first international home game since returning victorious in the Cyprus Cup.
Norway are currently ranked sixth in the FIFA world rankings, four places above England and Powell will also pit her charges against Iceland and Denmark before the Euros commence in August.
In terms of preparation, the England Head Coach knows only too well the importance of these friendly matches. "We are now preparing for Norway who are clearly one of the leading nations in Women's football, having reached the semi-final of the World Cup 2007," she continued, "It will again provide us with quality opposition that will test the character and endeavour of the squad, and to play in front of a home crowd at Shrewsbury will be a great opportunity for the team to put on a good performance. We are taking an extremely strong squad to Shrewsbury for the game."
Squad list
Rachel BROWN (Everton) Siobhan CHAMBERLAIN (Chelsea) Carly Telford (Leeds Carnegie) Alex SCOTT (Boston Breakers) Casey STONEY (Chelsea) Laura BASSETT (Arsenal) Corinne YORSTON (Bristol Academy) Rachel UNITT (Everton) Lindsay JOHNSON (Everton) Stephanie HOUGHTON (Leeds Carnegie) Anita ASANTE (Sky Blue FC) Jill SCOTT (Everton) Fara WILLIAMS (Everton) Kelly SMITH (Boston Breakers) Emily WESTWOOD (Everton) Katie CHAPMAN (Arsenal) Dan BUET (Chelsea) Rachel WILLIAMS (Doncaster Rovers Belles) Rachel YANKEY (Arsenal) Sue SMITH (Leeds Carnegie) Karen CARNEY (Chicago Red Stars) Lianne SANDERSON (Chelsea) Eniola ALUKO (Saint Louis Athletica) Jessica CLARKE (Leeds Carnegie) Jody HANDLEY (Everton) Gemma DAVISON (Arsenal)