The last time the two teams met was in the summer when England came out 2-0 victors in Southampton as they prepared for their ill-fated Euro 2011 campaign and they’ll be looking for a similar result this time around.

Pearce’s youngsters will go into the game in fine spirits after their superb 3-0 win in Iceland on Thursday and know an away victory in Norway could go a long way to them qualifying for the European Championships to be held in Israel in 2013.

The star of the show last time out was undoubtedly Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who after a good start to his Emirates career netted a hat-trick to seal the victory. Much is expected of the youngster who is still only 18 and he’ll be looking to make a big impact once again after it was mooted he could be called-up to the full squad if he continues to impress.

The one downside of England’s win on Thursday was the number of injuries picked-up and the likes of Martin Kelly and Nathan Delfouneso have all been ruled out of Monday’s clash.

However, this only means another player will get a chance and it’s more than likely that West Brom youngster Craig Dawson will be drafted into the centre of defence in Kelly’s absence and he’ll be looking to make a big impact after being left on the bench in Reykjavik. Dawson is a powerful player so look out for him in the air, especially from set pieces.

However, Norway (16/5 to win) have more than enough ability to trouble the Young Lions and will be excited about the prospect of causing what would be a major shock.

Pivotal to them will be Manchester United youngster Joshua King, who is currently on loan at German side Borussia Mönchengladbach. King is certainly one to look out for and his pace and movement can cause even the best defences problems.

Another man to look out for is Celtic defender Thomas Rogne who many believe will go on to be one of Europe’s top centre-backs. Tall and elegant, Rogne makes defending look easy and the England forwards will certainly have trouble getting past him.

Another thing to mention is the pitch. Monday’s clash will be the first time England have played on an artificial 4G pitch and this could cause them a number of problems. The slickness of the surface could take them a while to adjust to which may let the Norwegians in early on and could present them with an uphill challenge (Norway 13/2 to be leading at half-time and go onto win).

The game has all the ingredients of a classic but I feel that England’s greater quality should just see them shade it but it’ll be tight (England 5/1 to win 1-0).

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Although we’ve updated our eurovision sweepstake kit and many of our Eurovision Party tips from last year are still good ideas for this years knees up, our hosts are now Norway who really know how to party so its worth updating our advice with some extra hints and tips.

Traditionally, Norwegians are hunters, fishermen and winter-sportswomen. All themes which are hard to translate to a Eurovision style party, but in the interests of helping our faithful readers we’ve given it our best shot.

Viking Theme

An obvious theme but one which will surely be fun. Whether you encourage guests to go all out fancy dress or allow access to anyone wearing ugg boots and some paper horns stuck onto their hat, its a style which even those men who normally refuse to even consider dressing up will generally attempt. Decorate your home with piles of ‘gold and treasure’, plastic axes and shiny shields made of cardboard covered tinfoil.

Aurora Borealis Evening

Anyone with one of those swanky lights which washes the wall with light and changes colour will be able to mock up a northern lights display to rival the Aurora, at least after a few glasses of aquavit. Light the remainder of the room with just twinkling stars (fairylights) and the glow of the widescreen TV and you’ll have a magical setting. After everyone has marvelled at your creativity switch the lighting to ‘disco pulse’ and you’ll have an instant disco to end the night in style.

Red, Blue and White

Drape the Norwegian flag over tables, walls and balconies, tell everyone that they will only be able to attend if dressed in red, white or blue and theme your food along the same lines – this is quite easy even if you wish to stick to the Norwegian food theme using the traditional bright red sausage, lingonberries, cheese, pickled herring and blue potatoe salad (no really – Adirondack potatoes. Its that or blueberries)

a-ha!

Perhaps best known for their awesome ‘Take on Me’ video in the early 80’s, a-ha are probably Norways most famous mainstream musical export, and seem worthy of a themed Eurovision party, although they have never represented their country in this greatest of all musical challenges.  Use an online image search for ‘aha video’ and print out some poster sized prints to decorate your walls*, encourage everyone to wear a quiff or floppy fringe for the evening and make the dress code bleached denim. If I thought my wombles confession was embarrasing last year, its nothing to confessing that I had a Morten Harkett picture on my wall.

Norweigan food ideas

Food is an essential part of any Eurovision Party – the classic Norwegian favourite of smoked salmon is popular in the Uk and through most of the world, making it an easy choice both to source and be sure your guests will enjoy. For the slightly more adventerous, why not try rollmops – while not quite authentic Norwegian pickled herring they have the advantage of being available in jars next to the pickled onions in nearly all deli’s and supermarkets.

If you decide to stick with cold food, you could setup a smorgasbord (properly, in Norway, this is called a koldtbord). Include breads, Norwegian butter and cheese (Jarlsberg, Ridder and Gjetost are available in the UK), smoked and pickled fish, cold meats, sausages (generally in Norway pork sausages are preferred – good Deli’s may sell prinskorv, a small hot dog style sausage, but pork chipolata’s will embrace the Eurovision spirit without offending any Scandinavians present.) Add some potato dishes and you’ll have a good selection.

If you fancy hot food, then Polser, or hotdog sausages, served in soft white buns is an easy and authentic Norwegian partyfood. Alternatively meatballs in a tomato sauce make a good hearty mopping-up-the-alcohol meal which nearly everyone will enjoy. Traditionally made of beef, you could consider adding some Elk meat (yes, this is available online, or use venison which is more locally sourced for most of us). Ikea are also currently offering moose-lasagne for £1.50 a portion which doesn’t sound very traditional to us, but has the virtue of being quick, cheap and easy, if you can pursuade your local store to sell you a tray to take home.

Skal!

And of course no Eurovision Party would be complete without some drinks. Pils and aquavit (schnapps) are the national drinks of Norway and after extensive testing we can confirm that they’re both great Eurovision drinks. Ensure you have plenty of soft drinks for the drivers and those who get a little too enthusiastic too early and you’ll be sure to have a great evening.

Have a great party! Ha Det Fest!

*obviously ensuring its allowed under copyright law

Related posts:

1. Eurovision National Selection Events
2. What have we got to look forward to in the 2009 sporting calendar?
3. Barcelona Won’t Slip Up Now

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