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England fans joke 'best thing about this game is Finland's kit' in drab encounter

It was a bit of a snoozefest in Helsinki on Sunday evening - leaving some England fans to joke the best part of the game was Finland's home kit

England's midfielder #08 Jude Bellingham, Finland's defender #04 Robert Ivanov and Finland's forward #09 Fredrik Jensen vie for the ball during the UEFA Nations League, League B Group B2 football match Finland vs England at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland, on October 13, 2024
Finland donned their home kit for the clash(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

England's response to their Greek oddity was a snoozefest on Sunday afternoon.

Football fans that had already tucked into their Sunday roast might have been at risk of falling asleep as the Three Lions could barely muster a roar. Jack Grealish sent Lee Carsley's side ahead, Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a free-kick and Rice rounded out the game - that was just about it.


ITV's commentators scramble to fill the time, talking about Finland's strange success in F1 while England fans on social media noted the Nordic nation's kit might just be the best thing about the snoozefest in Helsinki.


READ MORE: Carsley admits he 'needs to look at different players' after dropping Pickford

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"Best thing about this game is Finland’s kit," one fan said. While a second added: "Always been into my kit and I reckon England could do worse than replicating the Finland kit..."

"Look at Finland. Unmistakably and unashamedly Finnish. Look at ours and you wouldn't know it was an England kit from the stands. Can we get back to proper England kit and colours," a third fumed. And another added: "Why can't England have a kit like Finland rather than all these blue ones?"

England's midfielder #04 Declan Rice (L) and Finland's midfielder #06 Glen Kamara vie for the ball during the UEFA Nations League, League B Group B2 football match Finland vs England at the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland, on October 13, 2024.
England weren't exactly in top gear(Image: Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images)

England needed a win on Sunday evening to keep their hopes of promotion to League A alive.

This season's version of the Nations League comes with the usual backup of qualifying spots for the next major international men’s tournament, in this case the 2026 World Cup.

In practice that means the four best group winners from the Nations League who don’t finish in the top two in World Cup qualifying groups will earn another shot at reaching USA, Mexico and Canada, by way of the playoffs.

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Which could prove to be like gold for England should they fail in their World Cup qualification group.

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