Finland 1-3 England: Three Lions back on track in Nations League

After the chaos of their defeat to Greece, England restored some sort of order on the pitch with a 3-1 Nations League win over Finland in the Olympic Stadium. The tie was mainly played in grey but was memorable for a vivid thunderbolt of a free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Off the pitch, though, confusion still reigns. The build-up to the game was overshadowed by increased uncertainty about whether interim coach Lee Carsley, the FA's preferred choice to become the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, even wants the job.

A win is a win but it feels now as if England have entered a period of inertia and drift either until Carsley clarifies his intentions or the FA appoint a new permanent manager to take over from him after the final Nations League games against Greece and the Republic of Ireland next month.

After the failed experiments on view in the Greece game, Carsley adopted a more conservative approach this time and was rewarded with decent performances by Angel Gomes and Jack Grealish in particular.

But the match felt as if it was marooned in an island of uncertainty surrounding the identity of the next manager. England may not be quite as good as their fans think they are but they still possess some of the most talented individuals in the game.

Getting someone to manage them ought not to be a particularly hard sell, particularly with a World Cup on the horizon but the FA are in stasis, seemingly at a loss to know whether Carsley would take the job or not. They need to find out soon.

Carsley has resisted regular invitations from the media to declare his interest in taking the England job on a permanent basis and, on the eve of this game, some reports suggested that he did not want it.

If they are true, that does not make Carsley a bad coach. Probably, the opposite. It suggests he may not be ruled by the same intensity of ambition that characterises so many of his fellow managers and coaches. It suggests a man who has different priorities in life.

But it is a far from ideal situation for the FA. The uncertainty has sown confusion amidst the hierarchy and among supporters. And it has created a vacuum of authority and leadership in the England set-up.

It has also put the development of the team on hold after the departure of Gareth Southgate. When it felt as if Carsley would be the next manager, there was at least some meaning to the otherwise meaninglessness Nations League.

But if Carsley is not to be in charge for the long-term, then the changes he makes in style and personnel in games like this tie, carry less significance. If Carsley is to return to coaching the Under-21s, whoever takes permanent charge will bring his own ideas about players and systems.

It is also a blow to the idea that the FA had established a smooth succession plan that would have rewarded Carsley for a successful stint coaching the Under-21s with the senior job. The principle of a pathway for English coaches has suddenly been obscured.

It was hardly a surprise, in those circumstances, that this game felt flat. England soon exhibited some of the same frailty that had infused their performance against Greece. A poor pass from Gomes ceded possession to the Finns and when Fredrik Jensen's shot was blocked, the ball fell to Benjamin Kallman, who dragged his effort wide.

But England gradually settled into a rhythm and in the 18th minute, Alexander-Arnold fired in a ball to Gomes on the edge of the area, Gomes took the ball with his back to goal, turned sweetly away from his marker and threaded a brilliant pass through to Grealish. Grealish opened up his body and curled the ball around Lukas Hradecky.

England might have doubled their lead when Jude Bellingham found Declan Rice deep in the Finland area with a superb driven pass but Rice could not keep the ball under close enough control to prevent a defender hacking it away.

England were in control but they still seemed fitful. Palmer looked isolated and detached wide on the right and was barely in the game, Kane was anonymous and Gomes appeared to be struggling with an ankle injury.

Finland wasted a fine chance to equalise six minutes before the break. Nikolai Ahlo drifted away from Alexander-Arnold when a cross-field pass was pumped forward to him, and found space to nod the ball down for Jensen but he leaned back and lifted his shot high over the bar.

The home team squandered an even better opportunity ten minutes after the break. Topi Keskinen, the Aberdeen forward who has a tattoo of Wayne Rooney, fishing, on his arm, squared up John Stones and went past him on the left. 

He cut back his cross into the path of Jensen, but from six yards out, Jensen somehow scooped his shot over the bar again.

And then, from the midst of England's torpor, Alexander-Arnold conjured a beautiful flash of lightning. Bellingham was fouled on the edge of the box 15 minutes from time and Alexander-Arnold whipped a curling, dipping, fizzing free-kick over the wall and into the roof of the net. It was a goal to warm a chill night.

After Kane had given way, Ollie Watkins added some pace and verve to the attack and his run and cross in the 84th minute allowed Rice to put the game out of reach for England with a neat finish.

Finland salvaged some pride with a late consolation goal, a towering near post header from Arttu Hoskonen from a corner three minutes from time.