Five things Lee Carsley learned as England bounce back from Greek oddity to beat Finland
Lee Carsley's England bounced back from their 2-1 defeat to Greece earlier in the week with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Finland in the Nations League
England bounced back from their midweek defeat to Greece with a comfortable 3-1 win over Finland in the Nations League.
Interim boss Lee Carsley's side found the back of the net on three occasions, with goals being scored by Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice. While it looked as though the Three Lions were going to finish the game with a clean sheet, a late Arttu Hoskonen header from a corner saw Finland breach the England defence.
But after a disappointing performance against Greece earlier in the week, the 3-1 win over Finland means England finished their October internationals on a high rather.
READ MORE: England fans joke 'best thing about this game is Finland's kit' in drab encounter
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And here are five things Carsley and England's supporters learned during the win over Finland...
A bounce back win
It can't be stressed just how bad England were against Greece, who thoroughly deserved to beat the Three Lions at Wembley earlier in the week. The decision to not start a striker against Greece backfired on Carsley with England looking lost.
However, against Finland, while they didn't look their best in parts, they came away ultimately with a comfortable 3-1 win thanks to goals from Grealish, Alexander-Arnold and Rice. It was just the result England needed, only dampened slightly by the late goal they conceded from a corner when Arttu Hoskonen headed home.
Angel Gomes might be the answer
Still something of an unknown quantity to England supporters due to playing the majority of his professional career abroad in France, Lille midfielder Angel Gomes looks a real talent. The former Manchester United youngster is tidy on the ball, and showed off his quality for England's opener from Grealish.
A nice ball through the lines from Alexander-Arnold to Gomes saw the Lille star take a touch to give him the space to turn, another to shield the ball away from the on-coming defender, and a third to deftly play Grealish in behind with an outside of the foot pass.
England's opener against Finland was a superb move which showed off fluidity and quality. If Carsley is not named England boss on a permanent basis, the biggest contribution he may have handed the Three Lions senior team is giving Gomes his full international debut after having worked with him with the Under 21's. Gomes looks a real player and should be given more opportunities in the heart of England's midfield alongside Declan Rice.
Jack Grealish steps up again
During the September internationals, which saw England beat the Republic of Ireland and Finland, Grealish impressed. And this time around after missing the game against Greece, Grealish impressed again.
Returning to the England starting line-up, Grealish scored again for the Three Lions, neatly finishing off a nice move after being put through on goal by Gomes. England are blessed on the flanks right now, with Carsley, or any other manager having to choose between Grealish, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Phil Foden, Noni Madueke and Eberchi Eze.
But if Grealish can continue to produce for England when he plays, he could lock down the left-wing spot moving forward.
The Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment 2.0
While Trent Alexander-Arnold's move to midfield during the summer didn't work, during the September internationals the Liverpool star impressed playing in his usual right-back position, winning man of the match in both games.
So what did Lee Carsley opt to do in their second game of the October camp? Start Alexander-Arnold at left-back of course. Now, while it is infuriating to see England continue to move around their best passer into positions which are not his best, the decision by Carsley to play him at left-back wasn't a bad one - especially after he netted a stunning second half free-kick.
The wonderful free-kick was just a continued reminder that Alexander-Arnold is one of England's best players. Unless he is injured, he should always been in the starting line-up - and more importantly, put in a position by whoever is in charge to succeed.
England continue to look shaky on the counter
If Finland had more quality up front, there's every chance they could have gotten a result against the Three Lions. On the counter, just as they did against Greece, England looked shaky with Finland enjoying some dangerous attacks.
Carsley will be happy enough England managed to bounce back against Finland on Sunday night, but there were a couple of moments of concern during the match which the interim boss will want his side to clean up moving forward.