Key events
1 min Peep peep! England, in their dark raisin/sesame (sic) change strip, kick off from right to left as we watch. Finland have started with a back five, not the advertised 4-3-3. They literally lied on their Twitter feed.
𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐨 – 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐗𝐈 | Nations League: 🇫🇮 v. 🏴 | Huuhkajat tänään kolmen leijonan kimppuun! 🦉🔥
Päävalmentaja Markku Kanerva on nimennyt avauskokoonpanonsa klo 19.00 loppuunmyydyllä Olympiastadionilla alkavaan otteluun! Lähetys Yle TV2:ssa… pic.twitter.com/eWVuoa37Ln
— Huuhkajat (@Huuhkajat) October 13, 2024
As the players stroll onto the field, here’s a reminder of the two teams.
Finland (possible 4-3-3) Hradecky; Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Kamara, Schuller, Peltola; F Jensen, Kallman, Keskinen.
Substitutes: Joronen, Sinisalo, Galvez, Antman, Lod, Pukki, Stahl, Pikkarainen, Tenho, Nissila, Pohjanpalo, Walta.
England (possible 4-2-3-1) Henderson; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Alexander-Arnold; Gomes, Rice; Palmer, Bellingham, Grealish; Kane.
Substitutes: Pickford, Pope, Lewis, Foden, Gordon, Gallagher, Colwill, Livramento, Watkins, Solanke, Madueke.
Referee Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia).
A bit of pre-match reading
Finland manager Markku Kanerva speaks to ITV
We want to give our fans a spectacular match. We know how tough it’s going to be but we’re ready to make a miracle. We have to defend well for 90+ minutes, be very solid and compact, and take care of the ball when we have it.
“Interesting quote from Carsley on wanting to try something different,” says Joe Pearson. “Is that a coded way of saying it was an object lesson to all those that thought Southgate was too stodgy and conservative?”
I’m not sure that’s how he works. I suspect it was more in the spirit of the England cricket team, testing the boundaries of what’s possible. That’s quite admirable because he’s smart enough to have known what was coming if it went wrong.
England’s Nations League campaign concludes in November with matches against Greece (A) and Ireland (H), then the speculation about Gareth Southgate’s successor will really begin. That’ll be fun.
Remember when
Lee Carsley speaks to ITV
It’s fair to say we fell below the levels that we expect. We can use it as a real positive now with a good response tonight.
[On Dean Henderson’s selection] It was always the case we we were gonna look at Dean in one of the games.
[On Trent Alexander-Arnold at left-back] His role will be a bit different to a conventional left-back. He’s very versatile and we’ve got a lot of confidence in him.
[On the reaction to Thursday’s defeat] I’m absolutely fine. It was something I was expecting – I wanted to try something different and I take full responsibility. If I had my time again I’d do exactly the same.
Jonathan Liew on England
For years the focus of England’s cultural development has been on how we can keep these guys happy, in an era where the rewards and prestige are ever more severely weighted towards club football. This was one of Gareth Southgate’s great achievements, and by the end even he seemed a little lost in the cosmos, desperately trying to keep the circus on the road, a cast of stars all convinced they were possessed of some unique main-character energy.
When it works, your stars step up at crucial moments to drag you to a major final you had no business being in. But the problem with this model is that effort becomes contingent on circumstances. Euro semi-final: fine. Uefa Nations League group B2 in October: good luck with that. Which is why a certain arrogance, a certain caprice, seems to have crept into the setup.
Poor bloke probably can’t wait to get back to the under-21s.
Team news: Carsley makes six changes
All change in the England team, with Lee Carsley reverting to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 formation. Harry Kane, Marc Guehi, Kyle Walker, Angel Gomes, Jack Grealish and Dean Henderson replace Phil Foden, Levi Colwill, Rico Lewis, Jordan Pickford, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka.
That means either Walker or, more likely, Trent Alexander-Arnold will start at left-back.
Finland have made five changes to the side that lost at home to Ireland on Thursday.
Finland (possible 4-3-3) Hradecky; Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Kamara, Schuller, Peltola; F Jensen, Kallman, Keskinen.
Substitutes: Joronen, Sinisalo, Galvez, Antman, Lod, Pukki, Stahl, Pikkarainen, Tenho, Nissila, Pohjanpalo, Walta.
England (possible 4-2-3-1) Henderson; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Alexander-Arnold; Gomes, Rice; Palmer, Bellingham, Grealish; Kane.
Substitutes: Pickford, Pope, Lewis, Foden, Gordon, Gallagher, Colwill, Livramento, Watkins, Solanke, Madueke.
Referee Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia).
Preamble
The difference a game makes. There was plenty of goodwill towards Lee Carsley after his first window as England’s interim manager, with the BBC among those surmising that the job was his to lose. All that goodwill evaporated on Thursday night, when England were beaten by Greece after Carsley picked an, a-hem, experimental XI that inccluded five forwards and no striker.
Carsley was praised by many before the game for letting England’s hair down, then ridiculed after it for being a bald fraud. And while it’s almost entirely unfair, Carsley’s distinguished England coaching career will probably now be remembered for the night he gambled on a 4-1-5-0 formation.
“You want the public to trust and love the team,” said Carsley, “because the impact the national team has on the public is very inspiring. We know we can do a lot better. You have to respect people’s opinions and we didn’t perform as well as we can and I would expect a reaction against Finland.”
England will pick a more conventional team in Finland, with Harry Kane likely to return up front, and they yet could end the day on top of Group B2. That would require the Republic of Ireland to win in Greece but, as England know all too well, stranger things have happened.
Kick off 5pm.