After yet another disappointing World Cup, England return to the familiar 'rebuilding for the future' mode, and it starts on Wednesday night when they host Norway at Wembley in a low-key friendly.
After veterans Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole's retirement from international football and the team's awful performances in Brazil, the FA expects a record low crowd of only around 35,000 tonight. Hence, the top tier of Wembley will be closed for the first time, marking a new low in the history of the stadium and the national team.
However, the match is vital for England, with the team set to open their 2016 European Championship qualifying campaign in Group E against a young and impressive Switzerland in Basel on Monday. The game will also see new captain Wayne Rooney lead the Three Lions for the first time.
Due to the retirements and the injury and fitness issues to several others, Roy Hodgson has called up four uncapped players - Calum Chambers, Danny Rose, Fabian Delph and Jack Colback - to the squad for the two matches in this international break, while the usual suspects form the rest of the squad.
Chambers' selection was pretty much expected after the teenager impressed both pundits and fans with his performances for new club Arsenal, especially against Manchester City in the Community Shield and Besiktas in the Champions League qualifier first leg in Istanbul.
However, the inclusions of Rose, Delph and Colback have come as a bit of a surprise, though none among the trio is expected to start against Norway or Switzerland.
England will lineup with Joe Hart in goal and John Stones, Phil Jones, Gary Cahill and Leighton Baines in defence. Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson will form the central midfield, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling will cover the flanks. Daniel Sturridge will be Rooney's partner in attack.
Norway, on the other hand, are also in a rebuilding phase, after missing out on a place at the 2014 World Cup. Per-Mathias Hogmo has named a young squad against England and for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign opener against Italy in Oslo on Tuesday, though there was no place for 15-year-old sensation Martin Odegaard, who became Norway's youngest ever player in a friendly against UAE last week.
Norway have won only one match out of 10 under Hogmo after he was appointed a year ago but the general feeling is that the team is now moving in the right direction.
England and Norway have met on 11 occasions before, with the Three Lions coming out on top six times, compared to the visitors' two. The last time they met was two years ago, with Ashley Young scoring to give Hodgson's side a 1-0 win.
Where to Watch Live
The game is set to begin at 8.00 pm BST (12.30 am IST) with live coverage on Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD1 India. You can also watch the match via live streaming HERE.
Watch the game live in the US on Fox Deportes and Fox Sports 2, while viewers can also live stream the action HERE. UK audience can watch the match live on ITV 1 and UTV, while the game can also be live streamed HERE.
Viewers in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the action live online HERE.
Expected lineups: England (confirmed): Hart; Stones, Jones, Cahill, Baines; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Wilshere, Sterling; Rooney, Sturridge.
Norway: Jarstein; Hogli, Forren, Nordtveit, Elabdellaoui; Samuelsen, Jenssen, Odegaard, Daehli; Elyounoussi, Kamara.
