England bounced back from their disappointing defeat to Greece as they won 3-1 against Finland in the Nations League.
Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice all scored for England, although Arttu Hoskonen got a goal back late on for Finland.
After his experimental formation failed to work against Greece, interim boss Lee Carsley fielded a more balanced team on this occasion.
England have now won three and lost one of four Nations League matches.
SAMI MOKBEL from Mail Sport brings you the moments you may have missed at the Olympiastadion.
Carsley insists Dean Henderson would always play
Lee Carsley calmed surprise over the decision to give Dean Henderson a start in goal
England interim boss Carsley insisted he always wanted to give Henderson a chance
Lee Carsley moved quickly to calm the surprise over his decision to give Dean Henderson his first England start instead of long-term No. 1 Jordan Pickford. The Crystal Palace keeper was a shock inclusion in Carsley’s starting XI for the game against Finland, given Pickford’s presumed position as first choice in the long term.
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 were times when we would look at a few other players and we would always look at Dean Henderson in one of these games.’
Declan Rice shows his ability as a number 8
We got another glimpse of Declan Rice’s emerging abilities as No.8 here in Helsinki.
The placement of Angel Gomes alongside Rice in midfield gave the Arsenal man more freedom to break into attacking areas, a feature of his game that has become increasingly apparent 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 glimpses of his abilities as a No.8 against Finland
Marc Guehi’s return improves England
Marc Guehi returned to the starting line-up against Finland after putting the Greek debacle behind him and England looked much better.
There is a calmness to the Crystal Palace defender’s play, which the team benefits from; with Guehi’s collaboration with John Stones expanding.
Levi Colwill, who played for Guehi against Greece, has had a fantastic start to the season for Chelsea and the fact he is left-footed provides a natural balance in England. But Guehi should be a regular in the England team ahead of the World Cup.
The return of Marc Guehi to the starting line-up helped the England team improve significantly
Trent Alexander-Arnold should play as a right back
Trent Alexander-Arnold is a right back. He should play there. Not in central midfield, not – as he did on Sunday evening – as a left back.
As Mail Sport first revealed on Saturday evening, the Liverpool star was used in an undisclosed role here in Helsinki, but enough to get him to England. He had a great time there and was able to work well with Jack Grealish.
His free-kick for England’s second was sublime. But this England team must play to his strengths and not put him under pressure. Play him. Absolutely, yes. But play 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 is still England’s vice-captain
Kyle Walker remains England’s vice-captain. The Manchester City defender was promoted to the position for Euro 2024 following the omission of Jordan Henderson, who previously filled the role of Harry Kane’s second-in-command for the tournament.
Kyle Walker remains England’s vice-captain and took over the armband when Harry Kane left
But the departure of Gareth Southgate and the omission of Walker from Carsley’s first-team squad in September raised questions about the vice-captain.
But Kane immediately ran to Walker to pass the armband to his teammate when he was substituted in the second half.