Norway's Singh ready for Israel opener

Norway's most experienced player Harmeet Singh is confident his side are prepared for Wednesday's curtain-raiser against tournament hosts Israel and believes they have what it takes to cause a stir in only their second final tournament appearance.

Singh is not only Norway's most seasoned campaigner, having made 35 appearances at this level, but has featured more times than any other player in the final tournament and will not be fazed by facing the other Group A opponents England and Italy. The 22-year-old has been a mainstay in the Norway midfield since his debut as an 18-year-old against Estonia in June 2009. He was a key member of the side that triumphed 5-4 on aggregate in the play-offs against France to help his country to reach their first finals since 1998.

"We've been preparing for a long time now and finally we're here," said the Feyenoord midfielder, who scored the opening goal in the 5-3 second-leg victory against France. "We are well prepared, we've been training well and we're ready for Wednesday. We are really confident in our way of playing. Everyone knows what we can do when we play well together. We have a lot of belief in ourselves.

"The biggest strength of our squad is that we have some great midfielders, some good defenders and as a team we are strong, we work for each other. We are well organised and in the attacking part we can do some good combination play. We can pass the ball and keep possession when we need it and we can score a lot of goals too."

Singh admits Israel will have the upper hand on home soil but is looking forward to facing England in Norway's second game when they have a chance to avenge the two defeats inflicted by Stuart Pearce's men in qualifying Group 8. "The opening game in any competition is always important," he said. "If you play well and get a win then that's a good start. They have home advantage because we are playing in Israel but we have played away from home so it will not be a problem.

"We are confident in our group because we know England and the way they play. Italy are also a strong side. Both England and Italy are probably the favourites in the group but if we play well and win our first game then we have a really good chance. My experience at this level can be really important, especially against the big sides, because I've played a lot of games since my debut."