Alexander-Arnold curled his shot into the top left from about 30 yards out PA/Bradley Collyer Three-one away from home against most opponents feels like a satisfactory result. It would be the same for a top Premier League side against a League One opponent in the cup and it is the same for England away to Finland.
And yet. These are curious times for England with a lack of certainty in the dug-out now being followed by a lack of conviction on the pitch.
This is the ultimate interim period even if they beat Finland, following the debacle at Wembley against Greece also in this Uefa Nations League campaign. But it was far from convincing at times.
England do possess some wonderful talents, though, and all three goals were extremely well-taken while the strength of the bench was evident. They were certainly better after their attacking changes.
Lee Carsley does not want the job of England manager and, unfortunately, with these past two performances he has done little to advance his cause even if he did want to succeed Gareth Southgate.
England gave Finland a chance or, rather, chances and that did not feel good enough. There was not enough control. There were too many errors. Carsley has talked about an experimental phase, about being bold, about risk and reward and we all get it.
But this had the whiff of complacency to it with England sloppy in defence and lacking a cutting edge in attack.
The fit-again Harry Kane was substituted after 69 minutes having barely touched the ball and Cole Palmer also departed having made little impact. They looked better after they went off with Ollie Watkins a lively replacement for Kane, creating Declan Rice’s goal. Discuss.
Carsley appeared to persist with Jude Bellingham as a striker whether as a false nine against Greece or up with Kane against Finland and that did not work either.
There were six changes to the defeat against Greece with, to be fair, a little more structure to that chaotic line-up and it was two of those changes – Angel Gomes with a lovely round-the-corner pass and Jack Grealish with a calm finish – who combined for England’s first-half goal. It ended a sequence of 17 passes but it flattered to deceive.
The second came deep into the second-half, a superb free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold from 25 yards high into the corner of the net. The defender started as an inverted left-back, before swapping with Kyle Walker, as that was not working.
The third was needed with Rice tucking home Watkins’ low cross.
If that had not gone in it could have been a nervy ending as Finland did eventually score, and deservedly so, with Arttu Hoskonen heading in from a corner at the near post. England were caught out. Not for the first time even if they gained the win.
Latest updates 7:09PM
Jack Grealish speaking to ITV “I think we showed a reaction today, I think we could have had a few more especially towards the end as the game opened up. It was difficult at times in the first half but we went into half-time with a 1-0 lead and I think we dominated from then on in. We were disappointed to concede but we needed a win so happy about that.
“The assist was top [from Angel Gomes]. It all comes from the manager letting us play with that freedom. I play with Angel every day in training and I know he is a top player. It was a brilliant assist.
“The celebration was for my little daughter, who makes me so happy. That one was for her.
“I said to Trent as a joke that I would give him £500 if he scored the free-kick and then he slapped it into the top corner. I owe him.
“I do not think it has been difficult [since the Greece game]. No matter who gets the job there will be always be negative talk. In my honest opinion I do not really get the criticism. Lee [Carsley] is a top, top manager and I love playing for him.”
Jack Grealish got the opener for England tonight Justin Setterfield/Getty Images 7:00PM
League B Group 2 table Greece: played three, won three, 9ptsEngland: played four, won three, 9ptsRepublic of Ireland: played three, won one, 3ptsFinland: played four, lost four, 0pts 6:58PM
Match stats Possession: Finland 31%-69% England
Shots: 13-15
Shots on target: 3-6
Touches in opposition box: 23-31
Corners: 4-5
6:56PM
FT verdict England needed that win after the defeat to Greece. It wasn’t spectacular and it won’t particularly prompt any glowing praise, but England simply could not afford another slip up.
The England players and Carsley went over to the travelling fans to applaud their support before heading towards the tunnel. Carsley also gave a thumbs up and raised his fists up to someone in the crowd behind the dug-outs.
6:53PM
Full-time There is the final whistle and England win 3-1 in Helsinki thanks to goals from Grealish, Alexander-Arnold and Rice. No clean sheet but they bounce back from defeat against Greece on Thursday with a win tonight.
6:52PM
90+2 mins: Finland 1 England 3 Ollie Watkins has provided two assists in his two substitute appearances during this international break. He’ll be disappointed to end it without being given a start, but can be pleased with his contribution.
6:49PM
90 mins: Finland 1 England 3 There will be four added minutes at the end of this match.
6:48PM
88 mins: Finland 1 England 3 Madueke has a shot inside the Finland box but it hits the side netting.
6:47PM
GOAL! Finland get a goal back It will not change tonight’s result but England’s clean sheet is gone. The corner is sent into the near post by Walta and somehow Hoskonen is in acres of space to head past Henderson. He should never had that much space in the box.
Just as the Finland fans start singing ‘Sweet Caroline, football’s never coming home’, their team get a goal they probably deserved. That’s what the Finnish fans wanted – something to celebrate.
6:44PM
85 mins: Finland 0 England 3 England change:
OFF Rice
ON Gallagher
That goal was Rice’s final act tonight.
6:43PM
GOAL! Rice makes it 3-0 A third for England on the night. England break and Watkins has it on the left. He drives past Hoskonen inside the box and cuts it across to Rice, who passes it into the far corner first-time.
6:42PM
82 mins: Finland 0 England 2 At the end of an England break, Foden tries to find Watkins at the far post but Uronen intercepts and puts it behind for a corner. England play it short and then send it to the far post, where Stones cannot keep it under control and it goes behind for a goal-kick.
Finland change:
OFF Alho
ON Antman
6:39PM
80 mins: Finland 0 England 2 Double England change:
OFF Bellingham, Gomes
ON Foden, Lewis
The England fans who haven’t started their journeys back into town are delighted to see Phil Foden get on – primarily because it has allowed them to start singing Springsteen again. Karaoke is apparently very popular in Helsinki – my colleague Mike McGrath tells me his karaoke special is Wild Thing by The Troggs.
6:38PM
79 mins: Finland 0 England 2 Alexander-Arnold floats a cross to the back post and finds Walker, whose header (which was not really a shot rather an attempt to head it across goal) is saved easily by Hradecky. Just before Alexander-Arnold sent in the cross, Madueke wanted a penalty but nothing given.
6:34PM
75 mins: Finland 0 England 2 Double change from Finland:
OFF Keskinen, Jensen
ON Pukki, Lod
A few Finland fans have seen enough with their team now two goals behind. And a few of the travelling England fans have decided to make an early cut for the local bars.
6:33PM
GOAL! A screamer from Alexander-Arnold WOW! What a goal! He has done that on so many occasions and curls it into the top corner, despite the best efforts of Hradecky. Simply sensational from Alexander-Arnold.
Am I being harsh in thinking the Finland goalkeeper should have saved Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick?
6:32PM
73 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Walta fouls Bellingham and England have a free-kick in a dangerous position not far outside the Finland box. Alexander-Arnold is standing over it…
6:31PM
72 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Madueke, who looked bright off the bench on Thursday, gets past his man and it looks like he will find Watkins at the far post for a tap-in but somehow Finland escape.
6:29PM
70 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Grealish’s cross is blocked behind by Alho and England have a corner on the left, which Alexander-Arnold will take. The Liverpool man sends it in but Hoskonen does really well to win the header and Finland can clear their lines.
6:27PM
68 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Double England change:
OFF Palmer, Kane
ON Madueke, Watkins
Palmer did not really get into the game much on the right and his Chelsea teammate Madueke is on in his place, more suited to playing wide right. Kane missed the Greece game so perhaps not a massive surprise that he could not play the full 90 minutes.
Harry Kane has now been substituted off in seven successive appearances for England. He didn’t get a big chance in front of goal tonight, but he did lead the press pretty well.
6:27PM
67 mins: Finland 0 England 1 From the edge of the box, Alexander-Arnold attempts a clever first-time dink to find Bellingham but Hradecky is quick off his line to get to the ball first.
6:24PM
64 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Time for an England change or two? It looks like Lee Carsley and his coaching staff are thinking about a few in the coming minutes.
6:22PM
63 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Bellingham lays it back to Gomes, who shoots from range but his effort misses the target. That did not trouble Hradecky’s goal.
Double Finland change:
OFF Schuller, Kallman
ON Walta, Pohjanpalo
6:18PM
59 mins: Finland 0 England 1 England win it high up the pitch and Rice shoots from distance but it is a pretty comfortable save for Hradecky down to his left.
6:17PM
57 mins: Finland 0 England 1 As he did a few minutes ago, Alexander-Arnold plays a terrific ball into the left channel for Bellingham to run onto. He drives into the box and tries to find Kane, but Hradecky stretches out his leg to deny England.
Palmer has actually started to move inside more now – it’s unclear whether he’s just doing that himself or whether he’s been told to.
6:16PM
56 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Huge chance for Finland. Keskinen does really well down the left and plays the ball across. It finds Jensen, who should bury the chance but blazes it over the bar.
6:12PM
53 mins: Finland 0 England 1 I do find it very strange we haven’t seen Cole Palmer in his favoured number 10 position yet in either of these games. He’s been in red-hot form for Chelsea and was named September’s Premier League player of the month. Other players should be moved to accommodate him in his best position, not the other way around.
Cole Palmer retained his starting spot tonight from the defeat to Greece on Thursday night Michael Regan/Getty Images 6:10PM
51 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Palmer shoots from near the edge of the box and it forces Hradecky into a good save down to his right. It came through a number of bodies, which would have meant Hradecky did not have great sight of it so that makes it a good save.
Good save from Hradecky to deny Palmer Michael Regan/Getty Images 6:09PM
50 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Alexander-Arnold finds Bellingham with a great ball into the left channel. He gets into the box but he takes too long to get a shot away and Hoskonen takes it off him. England then win it back and Alexander-Arnold shoots from distance but it is straight at Hradecky.
6:07PM
47 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Bellingham wants a free-kick but the referee is having none of it and Finland drive forward. Keskinen finds Kallman inside the box but he cannot take advantage.
6:04PM
Second half We are back under way in Helsinki.
6:01PM
Your views What have you made of that first half? Remember you can have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.
5:57PM
Matt Upson on BBC Radio 5 Live “I think it’s been okay. Defensively Trent Alexander-Arnold has done his role, there hasn’t been too much for him to deal with.
“But he will come in and it’s a different passing angle for him. He’s played a lot of balls inside the pitch. If he steps inside he has the nice one whipped inside to Grealish but he’s popping up everywhere, he’s in midfield half the time.”
5:55PM
Views at HT Despite England’s control of possession, Finland actually finished the first half with more shots (eight) and more shots on target (two). England’s only shot on goal so far is the goal scored by Grealish.
5:48PM
Half-time There is the whistle and England lead at the break thanks to Jack Grealish’s goal.
Grealish the difference so far Kimmo Brandt/Shutterstock 5:47PM
45 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Kallman has a shot on the turn saved by Henderson from inside the box but the offside flag was up.
Two added minutes at the end of this first half.
5:46PM
44 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Walker commits another foul, this time on Kamara, and is perhaps slightly fortunate not to have been booked yet.
5:45PM
41 mins: Finland 0 England 1 England go all the way from their own box to the Finland penalty area. Alexander-Arnold strides forward through the midfield and finds Grealish on the left. The Manchester City man sends it into Bellingham, whose first touch gets slightly away from him and his shot on the stretch a touch is then blocked.
Much better control from England tonight. There should be, given Finland are ranked 64th in the world below Burkina Faso, but at least the formation and tactics look a lot better.
5:42PM
40 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Kallman is found with a ball into the box but his looping header ends up on the top of the net.
5:40PM
38 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Chance for Finland. Alho is found on the right-hand side of the England box after a diagonal ball. He heads it into the path of Jensen, who takes on a shot but cannot keep it down and hits it over the bar. An opportunity there for the home side.
5:37PM
35 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Nearly for England. Bellingham find Rice, who made a great run in behind the Finland defence. He brings it down and just as he is about to shoot it is taken off him and behind for a corner, which Guehi heads off target and out for a Finland goal-kick.
The England fans may feel like they are owed a good performance today after the defeat to Greece Kimmo Brandt/Shutterstock 5:35PM
33 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Walker gives the ball away and Finland counter. Keskinen is found in the left-hand channel and he drives towards the England box. He lets fly from just inside the box but the shot is straight at Henderson.
5:31PM
29 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Gomes is now back on and seems fine for the time being. The home side will have a corner as Keskinen’s shot is deflected behind by Walker. The ball is sent in but Alexander-Arnold is on hand at the front post to block the delivery.
5:28PM
27 mins: Finland 0 England 1 With the ball out of play, Gomes has gone down and the England medical staff are quickly on.
5:27PM
25 mins: Finland 0 England 1 Keskinen sends in a dangerous cross after beating Walker down Finland’s left but England manage to clear their lines. That cross should have been met by one of Keskinen’s teammates but none were anywhere near it.
5:20PM
GOAL! Grealish gives England the lead What was I saying? England are ahead and it is a good goal. Gomes, who is found by an incisive pass forward from Alexander-Arnold, feeds a delicate ball around the corner through to Grealish inside the box, who times his run well to stay onside. He is left one-on-one with Hradecky and he slots home into the far corner. That is Grealish’s fourth England goal and his second under Carsley, having scored against the Republic of Ireland in September.
Jack Grealish is certainly enjoying life under Carsley. He now has four England goals and two of them have come playing for the interim head coach. Before Carsley, Grealish had last scored for his country in November 2022.
5:18PM
16 mins: Finland 0 England 0 After what was a disastrous night on Thursday against Greece, everyone was looking for a reaction from England tonight but so far in this opening 15 minutes Lee Carsley’s side have not exactly set the world on fire with their performance.
Can England respond well tonight to that terrible defeat to Greece? Jonathan Nackstrand/Getty Images 5:16PM
14 mins: Finland 0 England 0 Alexander-Arnold looks for Kane inside the box but his cross from the left is intercepted.
5:12PM
11 mins: Finland 0 England 0 Grealish finds Bellingham on the edge of the box. The Real Madrid midfielder cuts onto his left and then chops onto his right. His effort is blocked and goes behind for a corner. Finland head the delivery behind so it will be successive corners for England. Palmer swings it in and Finland clear but England keep it alive. It is cleared to just outside the box, where Alexander-Arnold takes on a shot that is blocked.
England have won five of their last 15 games in normal time before tonight, losing four of those. That run almost dates back a year, so the performances and results have been questionable for some time.
England are looking to bounce back from the Greece defeat Bradley Collyer/PA 5:09PM
7 mins: Finland 0 England 0 Big let-off for England there. Gomes gives the ball away cheaply inside his own half, which gives Finland the chance to push towards the England box. Kallman’s shot is blocked by Stones and then Keskinen, who plays his club football at Aberdeen, cannot take advantage as he drags his effort wide.
5:07PM
5 mins: Finland 0 England 0 Bellingham is penalised for handball in the centre of midfield and Finland are going to use this opportunity to send it into the England box for the first time. It is actually played down the line and then crossed in but England clear their lines.
5:04PM
3 mins: Finland 0 England 0 Bellingham tries to find the run of Rice into the box with a cross from the left but he cannot find the Arsenal midfielder and it runs through to Hradecky.
5:03PM
2 mins: Finland 0 England 0 As reported by Telegraph Sport, Trent Alexander-Arnold has started as a makeshift left-back. Carsley said pre-match that Alexander-Arnold will not play as a conventional left-back, so I think we can expect to see plenty of him in midfield.
Alexander-Arnold has never started at left-back for club or country Bradley Collyer/PA 5:01PM
Kick-off We are under way in Helsinki.
4:56PM
Kick-off fast approaching Both sides have emerged from the tunnel in Helsinki and it is time for the national anthems.
4:52PM
Reminder of the team news England: Henderson, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Alexander-Arnold, Angel Gomes, Rice, Bellingham, Palmer, Grealish, Kane.
Substitutes: Pope, Pickford, Lewis, Livramento, Colwill, Foden, Gallagher, Watkins, Gordon, Solanke, Madueke.
Finland: Hradecky, Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen, Kamara, Schuller, Peltola, Jensen, Kallman, Keskinen.
Substitutes: Joronen, Sinisalo, Galvez, Antman, Lod, Pukki, Stahl, Pikkarainen, Tenho, Nissila, Pohjanpalo, Walta.
4:41PM
Elsewhere in the Nations League In the other match in League B Group 2 Greece host Republic of Ireland later this evening. Greece are three points clear of England at the top of the group.
4:38PM
Change of keepers Jordan Pickford is helping goalkeeper Dean Henderson in the pre-match warm-up, taking shots at him and clapping him when he makes a save. This will only be Henderson’s second senior appearance for England and his first for almost four years after he made his debut as a substitute in November 2020 against Republic of Ireland.
John McDermott, the FA technical director, has been on the Helsinki pitch ahead of kick-off talking to interim head coach Lee Carsley and one of his assistants Joleon Lescott.
The man on the left replaces the man on the right Lee Smith/Reuters 4:36PM
The thoughts of Lee Carsley 4:33PM
Kane back England started without an out-and-out striker on Thursday but captain Harry Kane is back fit and starts.
4:32PM
Your views What do you make of the starting line-up Lee Carsley has named? Has Jordan Pickford been dropped or is Carsley just wanting to take a look at Dean Henderson? Trent Alexander-Arnold starts at left-back, having never started there for club or country; what do you make of that? Are you happy to see England revert back to having a recognised centre-forward rather than the experiment from the other night? What are your views on the front line? Remember you can have your say in the comments section at the bottom of the blog.
4:22PM
Inside the away dressing room 4:17PM
No-one interviewed yet? Gareth Southgate stepped down a couple of months ago but the Football Association have still not formally interviewed any potential candidates. Matt Law and Jason Burt have the full story on the lack of progress in hiring a permanent England manager.
4:09PM
Full team news Lee Carsley makes six changes from the 2-1 defeat to Greece. Dean Henderson, Kyle Walker, Angel Gomes, Marc Guehi, Jack Grealish and Harry Kane all come into the starting XI. Henderson has replaced Jordan Pickford in goal. Kane and Grealish are back after missing the Greece game whilst Guehi and Walker come into the defence, replacing Levi Colwill and Rico Lewis. Trent Alexander-Arnold moves across from right-back to left-back. Bukayo Saka is injured and has returned to Arsenal for further assessment.
England: Henderson, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Alexander-Arnold, Angel Gomes, Rice, Bellingham, Palmer, Grealish, Kane.
Substitutes: Pope, Pickford, Lewis, Livramento, Colwill, Foden, Gallagher, Watkins, Gordon, Solanke, Madueke.
Former Norwich striker Teemu Pukki is on the bench whilst former Leeds midfielder Glen Kamara starts. Bayer Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky starts in goal.
Finland: Hradecky, Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen, Kamara, Schuller, Peltola, Jensen, Kallman, Keskinen.
Substitutes: Joronen, Sinisalo, Galvez, Antman, Lod, Pukki, Stahl, Pikkarainen, Tenho, Nissila, Pohjanpalo, Walta.
A change in goal for England Lee Smith/Reuters 4:03PM
Who will get the permanent role? With Lee Carsley seemingly ruling himself out of the job, the question is who will be Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor? Jason Burt has taken a look at what England might do, with the heat on John McDermott and Mark Bullingham to find a convincing candidate.
3:58PM
Change in goal Lee Carsley has decided to change his goalkeepers Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson replaces Jordan Pickford. Has he been dropped after a truly dismal performance against Greece? Will England spin it as rotation despite the fact that this is not a friendly (although some believe the Nations League is a glorified friendly)?
3:27PM
Lee Carsley to revert to more familiar tactics? England look to bounce back in the Nations League this evening as they travel to Helsinki to take on Finland.
England suffered a terrible 2-1 defeat at the hands of Greece at Wembley on Thursday. Greece rank 44 places below England in the Fifa world rankings but they were deserving winners, their first win at Wembley in 10 attempts and the first time they had ever scored there.
Thursday’s defeat did Lee Carsley’s chances of becoming the permanent England manager no favours and, according to a Telegraph Sport exclusive, Carsley has decided he does not want the job.
Carsley suggested after the defeat to Greece that he would be happy to return to his job with the Under-21’s.
“I was quite surprised after the last camp [that there was talk] in terms of ‘the job is mine’ and ‘it’s mine to lose’ and all the rest of it,” he said. “My remit has been clear from the start – I’m doing three camps. There are three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the Under-21s. It has almost no impact.
“I never at any point thought that I have got it cracked. It was a case of let’s try something different and I’m happy to take blame for that. It was totally my idea.
“I thought about it long and hard, in terms how it might look, how it might build and how it might feel. It is something that didn’t come off but I don’t think we should rule out having that opportunity to try something different.”
Captain Harry Kane missed the Greece defeat after picking up a knock for Bayern Munich just before the international break but he could return tonight. Jack Grealish also missed the game against Greece but both trained on Friday and are in contention. Bukayo Saka limped off early in the second half and has returned to Arsenal for further assessment. Curtis Jones has also withdrawn from the squad due to a personal commitment.
The defeat on Thursday night leaves England second in League B Group 2, now three points behind leaders Greece. Finland have lost all three games so far, including a 2-1 defeat against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday night. England won 2-0 at Wembley against tonight’s opponents back in September thanks to a double from Harry Kane. In total these two sides have met eight times, with England winning six and two draws.
Team news to follow shortly.