England bounced back from their disappointing defeat to Greece by beating Finland 3-1 in the Nations League.
Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice scored for England, although Arttu Hoskonen scored later for Finland.
After his experimental formation did not work against Greece, interim coach Lee Carsley fielded a more balanced team on this occasion.
England have won three and lost one of their four Nations League matches so far.
Mail Sport’s SAMI MOKBEL brings you the moments you may have missed from the Olympiastadion.
Carsley insists Dean Henderson was always going to play
Lee Carsley quelled the shock by the decision to give Dean Henderson a start in goal.
Interim England manager Carsley insisted he always wanted to give Henderson a chance
Lee Carsley acted quickly to quell the shock over his decision to give Dean Henderson his first England start in place of long-serving number one Jordan Pickford. The Crystal Palace goalkeeper was a surprising inclusion in Carsley’s starting XI for the game against Finland, given Pickford’s assumed position as long-term first choice.
Pickford was poor against Greece on Thursday as England suffered an embarrassing defeat. But Carsley insisted it was always his intention to give Henderson a game this month, saying: “There was a case of taking a look at some other players and we were always going to look at Dean Henderson in one of these games.”
Declan Rice shows his ability as a number 8
Here in Helsinki we got a better glimpse of Declan Rice’s emerging abilities as a No.8.
The inclusion of Angel Gomes alongside Rice in midfield gave the Arsenal man greater license to push forward into attacking areas, a feature of his game that has become increasingly evident at his club in recent months.
It is a facet of Rice’s game that England must exploit in the future, with or without Carsley.
Declan Rice showed some encouraging flashes of his ability as a number 8 against Finland
Marc Guehi’s return improves England
Marc Guehi returned to the starting XI against Finland after sitting out the Greece debacle and England looked much better.
There is a calmness to the Crystal Palace defender’s game that the team benefits from; with Guehi’s association with John Stones growing in stature.
Levi Colwill, who played ahead of Guehi against Greece, has made a fantastic start to the season for Chelsea and the fact that he is left-footed provides England with a natural balance. But Guehi has to be a fixture in the England team ahead of the World Cup.
Marc Guehi’s return to the starting eleven helped significantly improve the England team
Trent Alexander-Arnold should play at right back
Trent Alexander-Arnold is a right back. That’s where I should play. Neither in the center of the field nor, as he did on Sunday night, on the left side.
As Mail Sport first revealed on Saturday night, the Liverpool star played an unknown role here in Helsinki, but it was enough to try and shoehorn him into England. He was good there, linking up well with Jack Grealish.
His free kick for England’s second was sublime. But this England team should play to his strengths, not pressure him. Play with him. Absolutely, yes. But he plays with him as a right back.
Trent Alexander-Arnold started as a left back but it is clear that he should play as a right back
Kyle Walker remains England vice-captain
Kyle Walker remains England’s vice-captain. The Manchester City defender was promoted to the role for Euro 2024 following the omission of Jordan Henderson, who previously held the role of second-in-command to Harry Kane, for the tournament.
Kyle Walker remains England’s vice-captain and took the armband when Harry Kane left
But Gareth Southgate’s departure and Walker’s omission from Carsley’s first team in September raised questions over the vice-captaincy.
But Kane immediately ran towards Walker to pass the armband to his team-mate when he was substituted in the second half.
