England went some way to banishing the memories of their dismal World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Norway at Wembley this evening.
Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the friendly encounter, converting from the spot after Raheem Sterling had been fouled in the area.
It was the Three Lions' first outing since crashing out in the group stages in Brazil, and they ended a five-match winless streak with the victory.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether they were worthy winners at Wembley.
Match statistics
ENGLAND
Shots: 14
On target: 2
Possession: 63%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 13
NORWAY
Shots: 2
On target: 2
Possession: 37%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 15
Was the result fair?
Certainly. It was by no means a perfect England performance and they won't have the rest of Europe running scared, but they were comfortably the better team on the night and thoroughly deserved their victory on the whole.
Roy Hodgson's side controlled the first half completely, dominating possession and dictating the tempo of the game without ever really threatening too much. Norway started the second half on top, but England slowly began to grow back into the match, and the goal put them right back on top.
It was a friendly match played at a fairly low pace on the whole, and four shots on target expose the fact that it wasn't the most compelling of contests for long periods. Norway actually created the better chances from open play but, on the general balance of the 90 minutes, there is no doubt that England deserved their victory.
England's performance
It's a new-look squad and many would have you believe that it is a new era for England, but it was the same old story with the performance. So often uninspiring, Hodgson's side once again failed to impress this evening, with Norway comfortably dealing with their threat for the vast majority of the 90 minutes.
The hosts were completely on top in the first half, but still didn't manage to carve out a really good chance despite getting into a lot of promising positions. They started the second half poorly and only began to show glimpses of a bit of inventiveness in the final third when the subs were introduced and the formation was altered.
There are positives to take from the match, but there will also be a number of issues that worry Hodgson. Having had 63% possession and 14 shots yet only getting two of them on target - one of which was from the penalty spot - is a poor conversion ratio, especially considering the quality England have up top.
The win was rarely in doubt, even when Joe Hart was forced into a couple of good stops at the start of the second half, but they will need to improve if they want three points away to Switzerland on Monday. You get the feeling that there were still some gears for the Three Lions to go through, but it would have been nice to see them this evening.
Norway's performance
Norway weren't expected to provide to stiff a test for England, but in truth they could have won the game on the balance of chances created. They made more openings in a short purple patch at the start of the second half than England did from open play during their entire time on top and, but for some good goalkeeping, may have be on course for a shock.
It wouldn't have been a deserved victory, but the way they had defended up to that point, you would have backed them to keep England at bay. They put everyone behind the ball for large periods in the first half as England controlled the match, while offering minimal threat up front.
When the goal went in with just over 20 minutes of the match remaining, it never felt like Norway were going to get back in it. They retreated back into their shell after a good first 15 minutes of the half and merely looked to keep England out. It is hard to see them posing too much of a threat to the likes of Croatia and Italy in their European Championship qualifying group.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Raheem Sterling: As he has been for Liverpool in every match so far this season, Sterling was England's brightest player tonight. He was always eager to run at his marker, while also being aware of teammates in better positions. He linked up with Daniel Sturridge particularly well on a number of occasions and was responsible for winning the penalty thanks to his quick feet inside the box. He is fast becoming England's most important player.
Biggest gaffe
Gary Cahill was almost left with egg on his face in the second half as he sent a back-pass woefully short, allowing Joshua King to race through on goal. The Blackburn Rovers striker went on to beat Phil Jones before Hart stopped his cross, sparing the blushes of Cahill.
Referee performance
Manuel Jorge Sousa had a fairly busy night by friendly standards. He had three penalty claims to deal with, and he got each one right. The first saw Jack Wilshere go to ground inside the box and, while it looked to be a spot kick at first glance, the Arsenal man was already on his way down when he got tackled. Sturridge was also correctly denied a tentative appeal, while the one Sousa gave was a stone-waller, with Sterling being brought down. No cards produced either, so a successful night for the officials.
What next?
England: England's Euro 2016 qualifying campaign gets underway on Monday with the trickiest tie of the lot as they face Switzerland in Basel.
Norway: Norway also face a tough task in their first qualifying game, hosting Italy on Tuesday.
Barney Corkhill
