Hodgson looks on as the former Baggies boss takes charge of his first England game

No player operated in those dangerous areas, outside of the conventional lines of formation, that the best teams tend to exploit. Some adventure came later, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 18, making his debut and operating centrally, behind Carroll, but he could make little impact in a 17-minute cameo.

That Young-Carroll axis led to the opening goal. Carroll, holding the ball up on halfway, managed to play in Young, who charged goalwards. When he reached the penalty area, he executed a delightful dummy to earn himself the space required to shoot across Rune Jarstein and open the scoring on nine minutes. Norway's defending was beyond lax. Their holding midfielder, Alex Tettey, was nowhere to be seen and Fulham's Brede Hangeland appallingly static as Young glided past.

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