Finland v England LIVE: Nations League result as Trent Alexander-Arnold scores stunning free-kick in win
Finland 1-3 England: The Three Lions bounced back from a disappointing defeat to Greece at Wembley last time out
England returned to winning ways against Finland as Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a stunning free-kick to lift Lee Carsley’s side to victory in Helsinki.
The full-back curled an excellent free-kick into the top corner from 25 yards to double England’s lead after the visitors had lost their momentum following Jack Grealish’s first-half opener.
Declan Rice then added a third for England on the counter-attack as Ollie Watkins came off the bench to make an impact after replacing Harry Kane. Finland pulled one back late on through a corner, with Arttu Hoskonen left unmarked.
But the result was a positive one for Carsley overall with the interim manager returning to a more conventional formation following the disastrous defeat at home to Greece on Friday, and three points gets England back on track in their Nations League campaign.
Follow all the latest reaction to England’s win below:
Finland 0-0 England
6 mins
No real attacking threat from either side yet. Finland’s press is forcing England backwards more than they’d like though.
Finland 0-0 England
4 mins
Kane drops deep to receive and he ships it on to Rice, who tries to exchange passes with Palmer but can’t get onto the end of the Chelsea man’s through ball.
Finland 0-0 England
2 mins
The first foray forward from England ends with Bellingham clipping a cross straight to Hradecky.
Finland 0-0 England
2 min
It is indeed Alexander-Arnold at left-back in the early stages. England are happy to just keep possession at the moment.
KICK-OFF! Finland 0-0 England
The national anthems come and go and the away side get us underway in Helsinki.
Finland vs England LIVE
The teams are coming out of the tunnel at the Olympic Stadium and we’re around five minutes from kick-off.
Can England produce a dominant display to dispel the doubts around Lee Carsley? He may claim he never applied for the permanent job anyway, but a big win here would do his reputation no harm.
Team news
Lee Carsley has made six changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Greece in midweek. In goal, Dean Henderson replaces Jordan Pickford.
In defence, Kyle Walker and Marc Guehi replace Rico Lewis and Levi Colwill, while Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon are replaced in midfield by Jack Grealish and Angel Gomes. There’s a re-shuffle in midfield, with Jude Bellingham dropping back from the more attacking role he had last time out; Cole Palmer will presumably be on the right wing this time too.
In attack, Harry Kane plays as a lone striker as Phil Foden drops to the bench.
Finland vs England LIVE
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of tonight’s Nations League match between England and Finland in Helsinki.
The Three Lions look to take three points against the side that sit bottom of their group as they bid to recover from the midweek loss against Greece.
We’ll have all the latest build-up and updates here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments