Norway 3-2 England
Nordic Tournament 2006
Fifth Place Playoff
Saturday 22 August 2006

England ended their Nordic Tournament campaign with defeat to Norway in a thrilling match that saw five goals and many chances for both sides.

After starting the tournament with a confident victory over Finland, Brent Hills' side were unfortunate to draw with Sweden in their second game and never recovered the fluency they showed in the opening match.

In their final group match England were again unlucky to lose to Germany, although they took heart from scoring the only goals that the eventual winners conceded in the entire tournament.

Katie Holtham got England off the mark after just ten minutes with a well taken goal that set England on their way, and despite conceding an equaliser minutes later from Solfrid Andersen the Three Lions took a half-time advantage when Shelley Cox scored her second of the tournament.

Hopes a victorious end to this year's competition faded when Norway came out of the traps rapidly in the second period and scored two goals in seven minutes to turn the game on it's head, with Melissa Wilk and Kristine Lindblom bagging the goals.

Germany took the spoils with a 2-0 victory over USA, while Denmark finished at the bottom of the pile after losing by just one goal to Finland in the 7th place playoff.

All eyes now turn to the senior team with the focus on England's training camp in August and the vital World Cup qualifier with Holland on 31 August.

Stay with TheFA.com for all the latest news from the England camp