After the disappointing result against Greece, England needed a re-boot from Interim Manager Lee Carsley, and sure enough, there was a big difference in the line-up and more importantly, the structure of the side. It certainly paid off with a much better performance, still not flawless, but definitely more England-like.

Goalkeeper Dean Henderson replaced Jordan Pickford and he was soon in the action as the Finland side made a lively start. A home attack was dangerous but ended when one shot from Benjamin Kallman was blocked and a follow-up shot from Topi Keskinen flew wide. England's shaky start was understandable as Finland pressed well and forced a few errors, but gradually England got to grips with the job in hand and through plenty of possession they started to find their feet. On ten minutes Jude Bellingham had a chance as his shot was blocked away for a corner. Another corner quickly followed and as Finland failed to clear properly, Trent Alexander-Arnold fired in a shot from the edge of the area which again was blocked.

Harry Kane tried to find Cole Palmer, but that pass was too long. At the other end, Marc Guehi showed his class with some lovely defending. He is so cool under pressure, just what was needed on this night. A promising attack by England was then thwarted by just one attempted pass too many by Alexander-Arnold causing the move to peter out. It was promising though, and the addition of Angel Gomes in midfield certainly made the team better, going forward. He worked especially well with Declan Rice, who was lively and hard-working throughout. And Gomes was instrumental in England opening the score in the 18th minute.

A good attack seemed to be petering out as the ball made its way through a crowd of players on the edge of the Finland area. The ball fell to Gomes, and his absolutely sublime flicked pass sent Jack Grealish clear and he coolly shot past goalkeeper Lucas Hradecky. It was a terrific goal, and you could see the relief across the faces of the England players, taking the pressure away. Finland then tried to hit back but Guehi's pace stopped another raid although the pacey home forwards would need to be carefully watched. It is amazing how much Guehi adds to the composure of England's defence and he really is a cool customer.

A spell of pressure from the home side then occurred with Alexander-Arnold struggling to adapt to an unusual left-back role. He left a great deal of space wide on the Finnish right allowing danger to come from there. England were patient in their build up though and very little danger came from the Finland attacks. One shot by Keskinen just after the half-hour mark was easily and confidently dealt with by Henderson, and then a fine pass from Alexander-Arnold, showing his strength, found Rice in a great position, but unfortunately the ball would not settle for him to shoot and a defender cleared the danger. More space down England's left gave the chance for a cross to the far post. The ball was headed down and how Fredrik Jensen missed from close range is anyone's guess. It was a really bad miss. Finland finished the half strongly and another header from Kallman flew over, again from a good position.

Half-chances at both ends came before the break and it was noticeable that Bellingham was struggling to make any impact, Palmer was anonymous and A-A was not a left-back! (Being an armchair England Manager is so easy isn't it!) The Grealish goal still separated the teams at the break.

After the restart a Grealish shot was straight at the keeper, and a Kyle Walker cross was met by Palmer, but nothing came of that. At the other end Jensen missed another great chance to equalize and England had plenty of warnings, defensively wise, something they must improve. Just on the hour both Rice and Gomez fired in shots, one saved and one over the bar and after that Carsley made his first changes. On came Chuk Madueka and Ollie Watkins for Kane and Palmer, and both the new men were quickly in the action. Generally, the game had had little to excite since the break but on 74 minutes a touch of magic from England doubled their lead.

A free-kick was awarded just outside the left side of the penalty box and Alexander-Arnold lined it up. Now for all the criticism of his defensive duties, you cannot ignore his other talents. His free-kick was magnificent, and the ball curled into the top corner with the goalkeeper hopelessly beaten.

For a while the game livened up again as substitute Teemu Pukki was foiled at the expense of a corner, whilst at the other end, Bellingham saw a shot go just wide and the good play by Madueka ended with a looping header that only just missed the goal. Leo Walta then went close again for the home side and it was then time for more England subs as Rico Lewis and Phil Foden came on for Gomez and the slightly disappointing Bellingham.

With six minutes of normal time to go Watkins made a strong and positive run down the left, took the ball to the bye-line before pulling it back across goal for the impressive Rice to make the vital touch to score. It was quite funny to see the Arsenal man so happy, just at the moment he was then substituted by the manager. Rice had played very well though and looked back to his best in this match. Three minutes later and none of the England lads were smiling as Finland pulled a goal back with a near post header by Arttu Hoskonen from a corner. It was a very basic defensive error by England and ruined Henderson chance of a clean sheet.

It was worth noting that England had finished the match with five Manchester City players on the pitch, and like City, the team had found a way to win. Some positive performances, and as I said at the beginning a much better formation of the team. The win keeps us in contention for the top spot, but a win in Greece in a month's time will be crucial in the final analysis.
       

Source Notes