Reaction, ratings and analysis
David Hytner was at Wembley this evening. His report has landed, and here it is. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
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Lee Carsley, impressive and humble, talks to ITV. “I thought Harry Kane took his two goals really well … it was a big occasion for him … kids here and the wife … an emotional occasion … I’m really happy for him … he fully deserves all the plaudits he’s getting … he’s highly motivated to play for England and score goals … hopefully that continues … we played Trent Alexander-Arnold in a bit of a different position tonight, along with Rico Lewis, who was also excellent … you’ve seen from Trent an array of passing, an ability to control the game from a deeper area … getting forward as well … it’s not a surprise … I definitely don’t feel comfortable, I’ve been out of my comfort zone during this international window ... it’s been enjoyable but I’ve had to make sure every single day I’m producing a really high standard … everyone has seemed to respond to it … we try to do as good a job as we can … we’ve been fortunate to get two good results and it’s about building on that now.”
Post-match postbag. “Finland look like they’ve been regressing lately. While it’s partly explained by personnel changes, these days the Eagle-Owls seem lost when attacking. Keskinen might’ve been the most obvious culprit, but at least he was enterprising. The other Finnish attackers seemed to wait for others to make runs that didn’t happen” – Kári Tulinius
“Surely if most of the crowd had left early, those staying until the end would have an easier time getting home?” – Redmond Grimes
Here’s how Group B2 looks after tonight’s matches.
Greece P2 W2 D0 L0 F5 A0 Pts 6
England P2 W2 D0 L0 F4 A0 Pts 6
Republic of Ireland P2 W0 D0 L2 F0 A4 Pts 0
Finland P2 W0 D0 L2 F0 A5 Pts 0
A delighted Harry Kane, 100 appearances in and with 68 goals to show for them, speaks to ITV. “It was a big night for me … obviously really proud to reach 100 caps … you know what I’m like, I want to score goals and help the team so it was great to be able to do that today … whenever you are doubted it makes you more hungry to prove people wrong … I always back myself to score goals … I am excited for the future … a great performance [by Trent Alexander-Arnold] … he backed up another great performance against Ireland … we know what he can do when he gets into those pockets … 2-0 is a really good performance and we’re not going to complain but we spoke about being ruthless … you have to keep knocking on the door and you’ll get your rewards, and that’s what happened tonight … [Lee Carsley] has come with a great energy, he talks a lot about freedom … suffocating teams … we have room for improvement but it’s been a great start for him and it’s been great to work with him.”
FULL TIME: Republic of Ireland 0-2 Greece. In the other game in Group B2, Greece have done a number on Ireland at an eerily quiet Lansdowne Road, Fotis Ioannidis and Christos Tzolis with the second-half goals. Heimir Hallgrímsson and John O’Shea look pretty dejected in the dugout as a few boos ring out at the final whistle.
FULL TIME: England 2-0 Finland
It’s two wins from two for Lee Carsley. Sam Allardyce had nothing on this.
90 min +4: Madueke advances down the right and attempts a curler towards the top left. High and wide. Bowen, in space in the middle, wonders what could have been.
90 min +3: Grealish dances down the left touchline in the impish style. He’s having fun now. Another player who has enjoyed a good international break. Quite a few England players have.
90 min +2: Grealish tears past a now-static Ståhl on the left. A low cross sails invitingly through the six-yard box. Madueke is inches away from poking home. Cutting his toenails last night probably cost him a debut goal.
90 min: There will be five additional minutes.
89 min: Wembley, far from full at the start, is half empty now. Most of the crowd content enough with what they’ve seen, and away home to beat the rush.
87 min: Bowen drops a shoulder and dribbles entertainingly down the inside right. He can’t find anyone in the middle, but that was a fun run.
86 min: Alexander-Arnold quarterbacks another fine pass down the middle from deep. Madueke and Rice faff around on the edge of the box, when one of them should really have got a shot away. It’s been a good international break for Trent.
84 min: Leo Walta comes on for Rasmus Schüller.
83 min: Eze swans past the hapless Ståhl on the left but his cutback doesn’t get through to Bowen. Finland hanging on.
81 min: Finland look like a team who want to head the full-time whistle. It’s been like that for the last half-hour, really.
79 min: That’s the evening’s work done for Harry Kane. He goes off to the warmest of receptions, smiling broadly, replaced by Jarrod Bowen. An inch, give or take, away from a hat-trick. Meanwhile Stones makes way for Marc Guéhi.
78 min: Kane turns playmaker, raking a glorious diagonal box towards Madueke on the right. Madueke sashays into the box and has a whack from a tight angle. He can’t force the ball through. It deflects to the far stick, but Lewis can’t tee up Kane, who had since made up ground.
GOAL! England 2-0 Finland (Kane 76)
… but back in the real world, it’s Harry Kane who has scored twice, and it’s Alexander-Arnold with two killer passes. This time he pings a defence-splitter down the inside right for Madueke, who immediately hooks a pass into the box for Kane. One lash across Hradecky and Harry Hundreds scores his 68th goal for England!
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74 min: Oliver Antman comes on for Topi Keskinen, who, somewhere in the multiverse, has two assists tonight, Teemu Pukki with the goals. Decisions, decisions.
73 min: Alexander-Arnold crosses deep from the right. It drops to Eze on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Eze leans back and blazes over.
72 min: Madueke dribbles elegantly down the right. It requires two men to force him to turn tail. He’s been super-lively since coming on. “Trent AA has had such a positive impact on the game so far with delightfully incisive passes and it was only fitting that he played the through-ball to Kane,” writes Colum Fordham. “I’m thrilled Carsley clearly admires Alexander Arnold’s talents.”
70 min: Eze crosses from the left for Madueke, who can’t beat Niskanen to a header at the far post. The ball nearly drops for Kane, six yards out, but the whistle goes as the England captain is overly eager to win it.
68 min: Nearly a second assist for Alexander-Arnold down the inside-right channel, but Eze can neither lob the ball over Hradecky or round him.
67 min: Madueke is immediately involved, twisting across the front of the Finnish box, right to left, before sending a bobbling, deflected shot into the arms of Hradecky.
66 min: That’s Gordon’s last contribution. He leaves along with Saka, the wingmen replaced by Eberechi Eze and, making his debut, Noni Madueke.
65 min: Gordon turns on the jets and launches a counter down the left. Schüller cynically grabs him by both shoulders and goes into the book. “Watch England retreat into their shell and try to hold onto their one goal advantage,” writes Philip Ritson. “What? England don’t do that anymore?”
64 min: A little bit of space for Gordon, just outside the Finland D. His bobbling shot proves an easy gather for Hradecky.
62 min: Finland replace Fredrik Jensen with Robin Lod. “Having lost by three goals against Greece, I had expected England to crush Finland,” writes Sara Torvalds. “But getting through 45 minutes without conceding a goal opened the door for Hope - which I shouldn’t have done, as Harry Kane then promptly shut it in my face.”
61 min: Konsa can’t continue. On comes Levi Colwill. Play restarts and soon after Gomes sends Kane barrelling down the middle. A shot is blocked. Finland have become ragged.
59 min: Suddenly Finland look super-vulnerable. Lewis enters the Finnish box down the left and lashes a low shot across Hradecky and inches wide of the right-hand post.
GOAL! England 1-0 Finland (Kane 57)
A ball rolled down the inside-right channel first time by Alexander-Arnold. Kane spins Ivanov, enters the box, and powers a rising shot through Hradecky, off the underside of the bar and in!
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57 min: Kane drives down the middle. The ball’s passed to Grealish to his left, then shuttled on to Gordon, who shoots. Hradecky parries well. Then a cross comes in and Kane’s effort is straight at Hradecky, who saves again. But no matter, because England come for a third time, and …
55 min: Some pinball in the Finland box. Nothing drops to a white shirt, and eventually a blue one blooters clear. “It sounds like Saka is being pretty lively and threatening,” observes Charles Antaki. “Wonderful of course, but in one corner of the Arsenal fans heart is the preference that he tone it down a bit, ease up, and maybe dawdle a few feet away from where he should be, just to be out of range of any harmful boots. An England win would be highly desirable of course, but there is the North London derby coming up.”
54 min: … and Hradecky to get a strong hand to a free kick fizzing towards the bottom-left corner. Fine play all round, with some good refereeing to boot.
53 min: Grealish is upended by Hoskonen, just to the left of the Finnish D. Play goes on, and Rice’s cross-cum-shot from the right is slapped away by Hradecky. But then play’s pulled back for the free kick. Kane to take …
51 min: Konsa is back on. This second half hasn’t quite got going yet.
50 min: Happily Konsa is able to get back up onto his feet and walk off the pitch. The medics will see whether he’s good to continue.
49 min: Konsa goes over on his right ankle, and requires some treatment … to his left leg? A slightly strange one, but whatever’s happened, he’s feeling it.
48 min: Gomes clatters into Schüller, another late challenge for which he’s slightly fortunate to avoid a booking.
47 min: Alexander-Arnold crosses from the right but somehow misses everyone in a crowded box.
England get the second half started. Finland make two changes: Ilmari Niskanen of Exeter City and Benjamin Källman replace Jere Uronen and Teemu Pukki.
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HALF TIME: Republic of Ireland 0-0 Greece. In the other Group B2 match, it’s goalless in Dublin. Like England at Wembley, the hosts have had the ball in the net, but Chiedozie Ogbene’s effort was ruled out, the same player having been caught offside earlier in the move.
HALF TIME: England 0-0 Finland
Harry Kane had a goal disallowed for offside, but otherwise that’s it for England. Finland meanwhile will rue Topi Keskinen’s inability to spot Teemu Pukki free on a couple of occasions. Markku Kanerva will be the happier coach; Lee Carsley has a bit of work to do.
45 min +1: One additional minute, and nothing happens in it.
45 min: … sends a curler towards the top right. But it doesn’t curl enough. It’s close, inches away, but wide and high nevertheless.
44 min: Kamara clanks into Gomes, just to the left of the D. A free kick in a very dangerous position. Kane wants to take it, but Alexander-Arnold wins the argument. He steps up, and …
43 min: Jensen advances down the right and wins a corner. Keskinen’s delivery is no good and it’s another set piece wasted by Finland. They’ve had their chances to work Pickford but not taken any of them.
42 min: Saka dribbles down the left and reaches the corner of the six-yard box, but can’t find room to either shoot or cross. He pulls back for Lewis, who rolls across the face of the box towards Alexander-Arnold. A fierce low diagonal drive flies inches wide of the left-hand post.
41 min: England continue to probe; Finland continue to hold firm. It’s been a staunch defensive display.
39 min: For the second time this evening, Keskinen has the chance to play Pukki clear. He runs down the middle, but instead of teeing up his striker to the left, attempts a much more difficult reverse pass down the right for Schüller, and the ball’s easily intercepted. A fair chance Pukki will offer Keskinen some beneficial advice during the break.
38 min: Alexander-Arnold rolls a pass down the inside-right channel and Kane nearly gets in ahead of Hoskonen. The defender telescopes a leg to divert out for a corner, from which nothing comes. Kane might have been a smidgen offside there, so had the pass reached the striker, any resulting goal would most likely have been chalked off.
36 min: Kane shows the first signs of frustration, penalised for pushing and pulling in the Finnish box then grimacing hard and muttering quite a lot.
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34 min: The corner’s worked back to Saka again. This time the shot is no good, woefully wide and high. “It’s gonna take a decent finish to finish the Finnish,” quips Peter Oh, who couldn’t look that gift horse in the mouth.
33 min: Grealish’s presence down the left earns another England corner. Alexander-Arnold takes it quickly, Grealish cuts back for Saka, and the resulting shot is deflected wide left by Kamara. Another corner coming up.
32 min: A lovely defence-splitting pass down the inside-right by Konsa to release Saka. His low cross doesn’t reach Kane, waiting to tap home, because Hoskonen reads the danger and hoicks behind for a corner. Saka’s delivery is no good, and we play on.
30 min: Peltola faffs around with the ball at his feet on the edge of his own box. Gomes is on him in a flash, and looks to have nicked the ball cleanly. He’s one on one with the keeper, but the whistle goes, rather generously it has to be said. Peltola felt a light brush of contact and went down theatrically, grabbing the out with both hands.
29 min: Saka dribbles hard down the right and wins a corner. Saka takes it himself and curls it into a crowded six-yard box. Konsa should win a header but mistimes his jump and the chance to get an effort on goal passes by as the ball is hoofed clear.
28 min: It’s all got a bit scrappy, which will please Finland no end.
26 min: A huge chance for Finland! Schüller hooks the ball away from a dozing Rice, and Keskinen drives towards the box before larruping a wild shot over the bar. He should have slipped Pukki, just to his left, free on goal. Pukki is beyond livid. The young winger will surely learn.
25 min: That offside decision was pretty tight. Much tighter than it looked at first to the naked eye. VAR needed quite some time to work things out.
23 min: Kane has the ball in the net, Saka crossing from the right, the 100-up man planting a header into the bottom left. But he’s gone too early, and the look on his face suggests he knows it. The offside flag goes up. VAR checks, and in fact there’s not much in it, but he’s an inch or two ahead of last man Ståhl and the decision’s a good one.
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22 min: End-to-end action as Kane’s shot from the edge of the area is parried well by Hradecky. Finland counter through Keskinen, who drives down the middle and uses Pukki as a dummy runner, before drifting to the left and angling a shot towards the bottom right. Pickford is concerned enough to extend himself fully, but the ball sails wide. Then England counter the counter, and Saka’s shot-cum-cross from a tight position on the right is blocked by the keeper.
20 min: Alexander-Arnold drops deep on the left, before wedging a lovely diagonal pass towards Kane, who looks for a moment like bringing it down on the penalty spot. But Ivanov extends a leg to hook away, just in time.
19 min: Gordon twists poor Ståhl inside and out like an old sock, then wins a corner off Kamara. Alexander-Arnold takes again … and Hradecky punches clear again.
18 min: The rain continues to pour down. Autumn’s here with a vengeance. “As an American, I am not exactly an England Ultra,” begins Joe Pearson, “but it is refreshing to see the team play with smooth possession and not keep getting in each other’s way. It’s almost like Robyn Cowen said on Football Weekly, ‘square pegs in square holes’. But what happens when the ‘big names’ come back?” If history is any guide, let’s just enjoy it while it lasts.
16 min: Saka plays a cute reverse pass down the right to release Rice, but the resulting low cross is easily snaffled by Hradecky. Finland will be happy enough so far, with England being held at arm’s length, just about.
14 min: Gomes slides in on Pukki, late, and it’s probably fortunate this is a glorified friendly, because the tackle was arguably worthy of a booking. The referee makes do with a simple calm-down gesture.
12 min: Wembley may not be full, but there are plenty of Finland fans in attendance, and they’re making enough noise. Then suddenly Pukki is played in down the inside-left channel, and Lewis is required to deflect his shot wide left of the goal. The corner is wasted, but still, that’s something for the Finns after their slow start. Huu!
10 min: Finland can’t get a sniff. England are hogging possession, pushing the visitors back and stating patient.
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8 min: Kane has a whack that’s deflected out for a corner. Alexander-Arnold swings it in from the left. Hradecky punches clear with the confidence of a man who’s just won the German double with Bayer Leverkusen.
7 min: Gomes is seeing plenty of the ball in midfield. Probing, passing. Gordon out on the left, too. It’s a positive start by England, who have a fresh, youthful feel. What was Carsley’s previous job again?
5 min: Now Grealish skedaddles down the left. He cuts back for Rice, who prepares to replicate his Dublin heroics from the edge of the D, only to take a wild swipe at fresh air.
4 min: Gordon already knows he’s got the beating of Ståhl down the left. He tears past him, then checks back and crosses long for Kane, who tries to set up Saka with his header rather than going for goal. Finland hack out for a corner, from which nothing comes, but that was a promising move.
2 min: It’s all England so far. Alexander-Arnold tries to find Kane in the Finnish box with a pass down the right but it’s blocked by Kamara.
Finland get the ball rolling. England soon take it off them. Wembley is not full.
A moment to celebrate Sven-Göran Eriksson, a life well lived. The applause also commemorates Kevin Campbell, Craig Shakespeare and Bolton defender Tommy Banks, an FA Cup winner in 1958, and who until his passing in June was the oldest surviving England international.
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The national anthems. Both are played. Let’s move on.
The teams are out! England wear their famous white; Finland sport second-choice blue. It’s raining at Wembley. Nothing like the deluge that greeted Wales in Nikšić last night – more of which below - but wet enough. Luckily the golden cap Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole award Harry Kane for his 100th appearance stays dry thanks to its transparent presentation case.
Sammy Davis Jr., Anthony Newley, Bruce Forsyth … all the great song-and-dance men have appeared on prime-time ITV at some point in their career. Lee Carsley joins the pantheon tonight. “It’s important we look forward to playing at home … we should expect to put on an exciting high-tempo performance … attacking … hopefully give the fans a good game to see … Angel Gomes will hopefully bring control to the game … dictate play … it’s important we don’t put too much pressure on him … he’s making his debut … but I’ve got a lot of confidence in him … [Rico Lewis at left-back] is a role he can play … I’ve played him there before … we have options … he’s another player I have a lot of confidence in … it’s a proud moment … it’s an honour to be in this position … I’m really looking forward to it.”
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The last time England met Finland – no spoilers, but a link to the match report can be found in the preamble – was also the second game of Sven-Göran Eriksson’s reign. Wembley will pay its respects to the beloved former England boss, who passed away last month, before the match. Today’s matchday programme also pays tribute to Eriksson.
Finland, ranked 63rd in the world, name a starting XI that includes a couple of familiar faces. Teemu Pukki, formerly of Celtic and Norwich but now at Minnesota United, leads the line; Glen Kamara, once of Dundee, Rangers and Leeds and now with Rennes, patrols the midfield. Young Aberdeen winger Topi Keskinen wins his second cap, while Exeter City defender Ilmari Niskanen is on the bench.
Lee Carsley makes four changes to his starting XI. Angel Gomes makes his first start for England at the age of 24, while Rico Lewis earns his second cap. John Stones and Ezri Konsa also step up. Standing down: Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo, Levi Colwill and Marc Guéhi. Harry Kane will make his 100th appearance tonight and be gifted with a golden cap before kick-off.
The teams
England: Pickford, Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Konsa, Lewis, Gomes, Rice, Grealish, Saka, Kane, Gordon.
Finland: Hradecky, Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen, Peltola, Keskinen, Schuller, Jensen, Kamara, Pukki.
Referee: Morten Krogh (Denmark).
Ready to take on Finland! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/hA4xb0i0N0
— England (@England) September 10, 2024
𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐨 – 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 | Nations League: 🏴🆚🇫🇮 | Tällä kokoonpanolla Englannin kaatoon 23 vuoden tauon jälkeen! 🦉🔥
— Huuhkajat (@Huuhkajat) September 10, 2024
Päävalmentaja Markku Kanerva on nimennyt avauskokoonpanonsa klo 21.45 Lontoon Wembleyllä alkavaan Nations League -otteluun!… pic.twitter.com/2YVAozH8yv
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Preamble
Republican firebrand and in-the-zone folk instrumentalist Lee Carsley looks to make it two wins from two in Group B2 of the Nations League at Wembley this evening. Here’s what happened last time England met Finland …
… and that really is quite the saucy headline. They’d call that trolling nowadays. Kick-off is at 7.45pm BST, just after the playing of patriotic music. It’s not compulsory to sing along, nobody in their right mind would take issue if you don’t, but we’re going to give it a blast with both lungs and great feeling. All together now:
♬ ♯ ♪ Oi maamme, Suomi, synnyinmaa, soi, sana kultainen!
Ei laaksoa, ei kukkulaa
ei vettä rantaa rakkaampaa
kuin kotimaa tää pohjoinen
maa kallis isien! ♬ ♪ ♬
