The next England manager remains unknown, but the (temporary) incumbent Lee Carsley ended a mixed international break with a 3-1 win against Finland in the Nations League.
Having picked a lineup packed with attacking players but lacking structure in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Greece, Carsley reverted to Harry Kane up top among a host of changes from Wembley. Angel Gomes impressed in midfield and played a crucial role in Jack Grealish’s opening goal while Trent Alexander-Arnold was tried at left-back and scored a beautiful free kick.
The absence of Phil Foden was notable. What does this mean for his role going forward? And that of Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and Grealish, who all started?
Jack Pitt-Brooke and Tim Spiers break down what this result and performance means.
How vital is Gomes two games in?
You had to remind yourself that this was only Gomes’ second start for England seniors because in the course of the short Lee Carsley tenure, the 24-year-old has made himself so integral to how Carsley wants the team to play.
They missed him desperately against Greece on Thursday, with no one to help Declan Rice defensively, and no one to help England keep the ball. Carsley admitted before this game England needed to keep the ball better in higher areas, and who better to help with that than Gomes?
Everything England did here flowed through the Lille midfielder, showing for the ball constantly, taking it on the half-turn, playing clever passes to team-mates.
He made Grealish’s goal with his best moment of all (see below).
He takes a ball from Alexander-Arnold, turns and hits a perfect little pass through to Grealish in space to score.
Most importantly, Gomes made the whole idea work.
If you want to play structured, possession football you need someone who can keep the ball, if only to help his team-mates get into position, to provide the organisation they need both with and without the ball. Gomes offers that unlike anyone else.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
What does Grealish’s selection mean for Foden?
After Lee Carsley’s computer game approach to Thursday’s game against Greece, throwing all his best attackers onto the pitch and hoping for the best, this was structurally far more orthodox.
Phil Foden was left out/rested, a choice that was hard to argue with when you consider whether he should be selected ahead of Cole Palmer, English football’s form player, on the right, or Bellingham playing off Kane in the middle, or, well, anyone on the left flank given Foden’s wholly underwhelming performances there at the Euros.
Grealish was handed that spot and embraced it when slipping inside to score the opening goal (see above).
(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
It was a very Manchester City performance from Grealish, who in the first half completed all 29 of his passes, didn’t cross the ball once and didn’t take a single player on. Pep Guardiola’s influence on this England team is strong — they may as well just give him the job.
As for Foden, the man who still has never made himself indispensable for England, you still struggle to see where he fits into the XI given England’s plethora of right-forward options, even if Palmer had an anonymous evening here.
Tim Spiers
Where best to play Alexander-Arnold?
Alexander-Arnold’s performance encapsulated the good and bad of England in Helsinki.
It was last year, also against weaker opponents, that Gareth Southgate experimented with Alexander-Arnold in central midfield for the first time. It worked against Malta and North Macedonia, as you’d expect for a player of his technical ability, but not in the Euros.
Here, the Liverpool man was utilised as an inverted left-back for the first time in his career (according to positional data on Transfermarkt). How did he get on? Well, pretty much exactly as you’d expect. He was useful going forward, he combined nicely with his good mate Bellingham, he helped instigate the opening goal with positive movement and a pass into Gomes and in the second half he scored a magnificent free kick (see below).
But defensively, again, as you’d expected for Alexander-Arnold, not least because he was playing in an alien role, he was poor. He gave the ball away, he was closed down when clearing in his own box, or he was beaten by diagonals over his head. Finland targeted him and were rewarded by creating some decent chances.
England were better defensively than they had been against Greece but still, as has been the case in the short post-Southgate era, gave up far too many opportunities against substandard opponents. Carsley is more attack-minded than his predecessor but this has felt more down to individual errors than a gung-ho approach.
As for Alexander-Arnold at left-back, this is not something that would work long term; Alexander-Arnold must play on the right, either him or Kyle Walker.
The experiment again highlighted an alarming dearth of left-back options, with Luke Shaw unfit, Ben Chilwell not playing at Chelsea, Levi Colwill better as a centre-back and Rico Lewis a promising but raw option.
Tyrick Mitchell or Rico Henry, anyone? Can England’s left-backs please make themselves known?
Tim Spiers
Lack of Saka, lack of pace
While this team felt better balanced tonight than it did against Greece, it did not feel quite there yet. There was more control, but less pace.
Bukayo Saka and Antony Gordon dropped out, and England now had three No 10s playing behind Kane. So while they enjoyed some excellent possession in the Finland half, they struggled to move the ball forward at pace.
It took the arrival of Ollie Watkins and Noni Madueke halfway through the second half to bring some dynamism to England’s attacking. They improved from that point, Madueke should have scored two, and Watkins created England’s third goal for Declan Rice after bursting down the left. But it did leave you thinking that the balance here is not quite right, not yet.
If Saka is fit he will come straight back in next month. But Carsley will be wondering whether he needs even more pace than that to stop his team from getting gummed up in the middle of the pitch.
Jack Pitt-Brooke
What next for England?
November 14: Greece (Away), Nations League, 7.45pm UK, 2.45pm ET
Recommended reading
(Top photo: Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
