This was exactly what Lee Carsley needed. After the mayhem and all the fallout from Thursday night's Wembley defeat to Greece, England set in mainly uncertainty over his long-term role, returning to the quiet progress of his first camp in September.
It was a stroll against a limited Finland side, the whipping boys in this Nations League group, England didn't exactly rock, but did more than enough to put the Greece tie a little further in the rearview mirror. After victories over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin and Finland at Wembley, Carsley now have three wins in four.
The highlight came when Trent Alexander-Arnold curled home a sumptuous free-kick to the left of center and flicked his right foot like a wand to make it 2-0. England squandered chances in the first half and missed a big one after the break. There was always the feeling that Finland were wasting them and that Carsley's team had more gears to find if needed. They don't.
Jack Grealish has enjoyed under Carsley. It was his third start under him and he opened the scoring with a fine finish after a lovely flick from Angel Gomes. Declan Rice grabbed the third from an Ollie Watkins cross and Finland's late consolation, when Artu Hoskonen ran free to head home from a corner, was little more than a minor annoyance for England.
The Carsley question was a key theme – as to where he would go at the end of his interim term in November. Answer: Go back to your old job with under 21s. The other big thing is about his team's style. An all-out all-out attack against Greece gave the Red Tops a dream title – Cammy-Carsley – and it will always be more routine here – not least because Harry Kane returned from injury to play at No.9.
England were dominant against Finland in Carsley's second game at Wembley, creating many chances and it was a night where control was the theme. The idea was still the same; So Gomes was recalled with Rice in midfield.
It was Gomez who picked the lock for the breakthrough goal as he found a way through Finland's small 5-4-1 formation. In the beginning it was all a bit too much, measured by England's tempo. They were all on the ball; It was more patience than emotion.
Grealish made an emergency injection, Alexander-Arnold and went left to find Dart in the area. What a lovely help Gomez can be. He knew where Grealish was and when he received the ball between the lines from Alexander-Arnold, he turned it neatly for Grealish who could only beat Lukas Hradecky.
The Finland goalkeeper was a titan at Wembley. Grealish opened his body for a sidefoot finish and a sucking-thumb celebration for a recently born baby girl. He was determined to take on a more familiar role on the left wing, previously playing more central roles for Carsley.
There were lapses from England in the first half, including when they tried to build from the back; Some loose passes. Gomes was a criminal in the early going at 0-0, giving the ball away and watching Finland work to Benjamin Calman, John Stones pouncing on a crucial block as he shot. On the rebound, Tobi Geskinen pulled wide.
Twice to the break, Stones went ahead first with Keskinen and then Kallman, and on both occasions, the Finn managed to die. Dean Henderson, making his full England debut, made an easy save. There was also concern about Finland entering the blind side of Alexander-Arnold, who played Carsley on the left. When Nikolai Alho did so in the 38th minute, he squared a header to Fredrik Jensen, who headed past Alexander-Arnold before hitting the target.
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Rice sniffed out a chance to make it 2-0 on 34 minutes when he took a decent first touch in the area from a floating Judd Bellingham pass and saw Matty Beltola miss his kick. Once the close-range shooting opportunity arose, Robert Ivanov closed the door again.
Alexander-Arnold was lined up in midfield and Mark Kwehi slid in from left center half to score three goals. But a word in Guehi's defense: commanding. He won a clutch duels in the first half, as he always does.
It was worrying when Stones was one-on-one with his man. Finland moved the ball to Geskinen on 57 runsTh Min, unable to block Stones' low cross. It ran all the way to Jensen, who lofted from point-blank range. It is an almighty omission.
At times, it felt like a slow move for England creatively. Bellingham was often so frustrated that he used his twinkling toes to whine. He claimed the ball, tried his moves, and when Finland substitute Leo Valda stretched for a tackle, he felt the contact and went down for the free-kick. Grealish offered Alexander-Arnold £500 if he scored. The goal felt precious to Carsley.
