England confirm Euro 2012 warm-up games

The English FA have officially confirmed that there will be no international friendly between the Republic of Ireland and England before Euro 2012.

There had been widespread speculation that the two countries could meet for the first time since 1995 in the build-up to Euro 2012, however England will face Norway and Belgium in their final warm-up games before the tournament.

Fabio Capello's men will head to Oslo to take on Norway on Saturday, 26 May.

Seven days later, on June 2, England entertain Belgium in their final warm-up game before heading to their base in Krakow ahead of the opening Euro 2012 encounter with France in Donetsk on 11 June.

"Since the draw in December we have been able to work towards these matches and the appropriate opposition, and I'm very happy with these two games," said Capello.

"In the draw we face one of the hosts, Ukraine, which will be a difficult atmosphere to replicate, but looking at the styles of France and Sweden I feel these games are a good preparation for us."

Hopes for a friendly international between Ireland and England in 2012 aren’t dead in the water, with rumours on a potential clash in the Aviva Stadium in November gaining strength.