Finland 1-3 England: Nations League – as it happened | Nations League

I’ll leave you with Dave Hytner’s report from Helsinki. Thanks for your company and emails; goodnight!

The team responded really well and scored three good goals. I thought we were a lot better tonight – we played with a lot more control. Looking at the data we’ve just got, we had massive possession, lots and lots of passes, created lots of chances. But I think we can still be better.

Finland were very well organised, with five at the back, and there wasn’t a lot of space. When you have as much possession as we did, you’re always going to get chances from 70 minutes onwards and it was good that the subs made an im pact.

Trent’s quality speaks for itself; he’s more than earned his place. We do get bogged down with whether he’s left-back or right-back but what’s more important is that he gets in effective positions.

Jack (Grealish) was outstanding tonight. I think he’d have been really effective against Greece and I wish we could fast forward and play them next week.

[Do you want the job?] I’ve not really thought that much about it. My remit was to do six games and I’m really enjoying it. I didn’t enjoy it so much in the last two days – I’m not used to losing with an England team and I don’t take losing very well.

My bosses have made it totally clear what they need from me. This job deserves a world-class coach who has won trophies and been there and done it, and I’m still on the path to that.

We could’ve had a few more goals, especially towards the end as the game opened up. It was difficult at times in the first half and we’re a bit gutted to concede at the end, but we needed a win and we got it.

[On his goal] It comes from the manager giving us all the freedom to move around. I play with Angel every day in training and I know what a top player he is. It was a brilliant assist.

[On Alexander-Arnold’s goal] I said to him, ‘If you score this I’ll give you £500’ and he just slapped it in the top bin!

[On Lee Carsley] Whatever happens with the England manager you’ll always have some people saying negative stuff. I don’t really get it. He’s a top, top guy, a brilliant manager and I love playing for him.

All over in Helsinki. It wasn’t the most emphatic response from England to Thursday night’s minor fiasco, but they were deserved winners. The pick of the goals was a delicious free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold, playing at left-back for the first time in living memory. He was also part of a sporadically shaky defensive performance.

Jack Grealish and Declan Rice scored England’s other goals – Grealish after excellent work from Angel Gomes – before Arttu Hoskonen headed a deserved consolation for Finland.

90 min Grealish’s low cross is cut out by Hoskonen on the six-yard line. He almost gives the ball straight to Foden but eventually manages to clear.

Four minutes of added time.

89 min “Antman isn’t just a super sub,” says Peter Oh. “He’s a superhero sub.”

88 min Madueke hits the side netting at the other end. He’s been a real threat since coming on, and if his decision making improves he could become a seriously good player.

No clean sheet for Dean Henderson on his first England start. Walta curls a corner to the near post, where Hoskonen gets across Watkins and strains his neck muscles to force a header past Henderson. Not great defending from Ollie Watkins but Finland deserve that goal.

86 min Though England have been the better team, the scoreline is a little harsh on Finland. Fredrik Jensen missed two chances to equalise, the second a bit of a sitter, and at no stage have they been haemorrhaging chances.

85 min: England substitution Conor Gallagher comes on for Declan Rice.

Declan Rice makes it three on the break. Watkins made good ground down the left, beat Hoskonen in the area and slid a good low cross towards the near post. Rice, who ran the length of the field in support just in case, touched the ball past Hradecky. That’s his second goal in four games under Lee Carsley.

82 min: Finland substitution Oliver Antman comes on for Nikolai Alho, who had a good game at right wing-back.

81 min England break four on four. Grealish slips the ball down the left to Foden, who tries to find the unmarked Watkins at the far post. A Finland defender gets back to boot the ball over his own bar.

79 min Walta shoots over from 25 yards, with Henderson committing to a slightly weird dive after the ball has cleared the bar.

England make two more substitutions: Phil Foot and Rico Lewis come on for Jude Bellingham and Angel Gomes. Both played pretty well and Gomes created Jack Grealish’s goal with a lovely pass.

78 min Here’s that terrific free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold.

77 min Bellingham shoots into the side netting from the edge of the area. Hradecky had it covered.

76 min “I’ve only been able to catch snippets of the game, but am intrigued to see Trent playing left back,” says Dean Kinsella. “Has it worked?”

Yes and no, which is the answer to pretty much any question about Alexander-Arnold when he plays for England. Some of his defending has been less than optimal but he played a part in the first goal and scored a majestic second.

75 min: Double substitution for Finland Teemu Puki and Robin Lod replace Topi Keskinen and Fredrik Jensen.

That was a classic free-kickwhipped over the wall at pace and into the top corner. Hradecky got a touch as he flew to his right but couldn’t keep it out. I don’t think he could have done much more.

A beautiful free-kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold seals victory for England.

73 min Bellingham dummies Walta neatly and is fouled 25 yards from goal. The free-kick is a fair way to the left of centre, with Alexander-Arnold over it…

72 min “The mid-range football nations can get pretty far if they’re well organised, and have a solid goalkeeper and a dangerous striker,” writes Kári Tulinius. “The Eagle-Owls have a clear way of playing, Hradecky is one of the best in the Bundesliga, but since Pukki got old, they lack a cutting edge. Pohjanpalo has been great for Venezia, but hasn’t replicated that form for the national team.”

71 min Madueke beats his man easily on the edge of the area and tries to give Watkins an open goal with an early cross. Hradecky throws himself at the ball and just manages to touch it away.

70 min Grealish runs at Alho to win a corner for England, who have had a whopping 78 per cent possession in the second half.

69 min: Double substitution for England Ollie Watkins and Noni Madueke come on for Harry Kane and Cole Palmer. Both men had quiet games.

65 min It sounds like Ollie Watkins is getting ready to come on for England, whose domination of this game is verging on the sterile.

64 min: Double substitution for Finland Leo Walta and Joel Pohjanpalo replace Rasmus Schuller and Fredrik Kallman.

63 min England continue to move the ball from side to side, looking for an opening. Grealish’s goal is about the only time they have found an eye in the Finnish needle.

59 min Rice hits a powerful curler from 25 yards that is held by Hradecky, diving to his left.

57 min Bellingham escapes on the left at the other end and slides a low cross that is crucially cut out at the near post by Hradecky. Kane was waiting behind him and would have had an open goal.

56 min: Great chance for Jensen! Finland should be level. The chance came on the break after about five minutes of non-stop England possession. Keskinen lost Walker on the left side of the area and slide a precise low cross that was wafted over the bar by Jensen, barely six yards out. Replays show the ball bobbled but even so, that was a glorious chance.

54 min Palmer plays a good early ball to Kane, who releases Walker on the right. He has to wait for support and the move eventually peters out.

51 min And that’s his second. Palmer hits an early shot through the crowd from the edge of the area, and Hradecky gets down well to his right to save.

50 min Alexander-Arnold whistles a decent effort from 30 yards that is held low to his right by Hradecky. That’s his first save of the match.

47 min Finland break three on three after England lose the ball in midfield. Keskinen finds Kallman, who runs into trouble and is dispossessed. That was an opportunity.

46 min Peep peep! The second half is under way; no changes on either side.

Half-time reading

England lead through Jack Grealish’s fourth goal for his country, made stylishly by Angel Gomes. They’ve been good at times, sloppy at others, and a resourceful Finland side have had good chances of their own.

See you in 10 minutes for the second half.

45 min Kallman’s shot on the turn is saved by Henderson, though he was fractionally offside so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

43 min Bellingham overruns the ball in the area after receiving a sharp pass from Grealish on the left. That was half a chance.

42 min Finland have played well in the first half and been more competitive than most of us expected.

40 min Kallman heads over the bar after pulling off Guehi in the area. It was a difficult chance as the ball into him was played from a central position.

39 min “Hang on,” says Matt Dony. “Are we saying that you can’t believe everything that’s posted on Twitter?”

Politicians telling bald-faced lies is bad enough, but tactical misinformation is a new low for humanity.

38 min: Good chance for Jensen! A crossfield pass from left to right is headed back infield by Alho towards Jensen on the edge of the area. He runs through the challenge of Alexander-Arnold and splatters a half-volley over the bar. That was a really good opportunity.

36 min Most of England’s threat has been on the left-hand side, with Grealish, Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold seeing a lot of the ball.

35 min Bellingham, on the left, pings a terrific flat pass over the defence to find Rice in the area. He controls the ball in mid-air, inadvertently wrongfoots a defender in the process and has a snapshot that is blocked by a second defender and goes behind for a corner.

33 min Then England lose the ball and Finland break. The lively Keskinen runs at Stones and shoots straight at Henderson from the edge of the area.

32 min England keep the ball for 90 seconds or so to calm everything down. It does feel like they have another gear or two should they need them.

30 min “Some insider info: Finland was planning to play with a back five all along,” says Antti Vanhoja. “The commentators on Finnish TV were aware of the ruse and revealed it to the audience already before kick-off. A cunning plan, though not very effective.”

It’s a big sad that the culture of marginal gains has extended to deliberately putting your team in the wrong formation when you post it on Twitter, but you see it happen all the time.

29 min Keskinen’s shot takes a deflection off Walker and spins behind for a corner. Finland are having a good spell.