Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Nations League clash between Finland and England, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
After a chastening defeat at the hands of the Greeks, Lee Carsley‘s England are under enormous pressure to respond on Sunday, when they head to Helsinki to pit their wits against Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
The Three Lions were stunned by the 2004 European champions in a 2-1 loss on Thursday evening, while their hosts were beaten by the same scoreline against the Republic of Ireland and remain without a single point in the section.
Match preview
© Imago
In the wake of the tragic death of former Sheffield United and Greece right-back George Baldock at the age of just 31, Thursday’s visitors to Wembley requested that their clash with England be postponed, only to be told that the match had to be played just 24 hours after his passing.
Despite being in mourning at the loss of their former teammate, Greece played an experimental England side off the park in the capital and deservedly left with a first-ever win over the Three Lions under their belts courtesy of a Vangelis Pavlidis double in the second half.
Jude Bellingham‘s drive had temporarily restored parity for England, but not a single soul could claim that the Three Lions deserved anything from Thursday’s game, where Greece had another few goals disallowed as they carved Carsley’s disjointed troops open at will.
Now three points behind the Greeks in second place in League B Group 2 – which would only suffice for a relegation/promotion playoff – England now endeavour to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since June 2022, where their home humiliation against Hungary preceded a 1-0 defeat to Italy in the Nations League.
A bullish Carsley affirmed that he would happily put out another striker-less system after Thursday’s game, even though the 50-year-old’s tactical tweaks backfired spectacularly, but reverting to type will surely be the answer against a pointless Finland outfit.
© Imago
Sharing the same fate as their upcoming visitors on matchday three, Finland momentarily looked on track to make it third time lucky in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, having failed to pick up a point or indeed score a goal in September’s double-header.
Joel Pohjanpalo‘s 17th-minute strike saw Markku Kanvera’s crop take a slender lead into the interval against Ireland, only for Robbie Brady to inspire the Boys in Green to a second-half turnaround; the former Burnley winger set up Liam Scales‘s equaliser before striking an 88th-minute winner.
Finland are competing in the second tier of the Nations League for the third campaign running, but the Eagle-owls are currently on a one-way street back down to League C, propping up the Group 2 standings in fourth place after three consecutive defeats.
The hosts’ defensive frailties have been laid bare throughout the calendar year, as they have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last eight matches across all competitions and have shipped multiple goals in six of their last seven games, including each of their last five.
Finland also succumbed to a Harry Kane brace – on his 100th England appearance, no less – when they made the trek to Wembley last month, which made it 10 wins from 12 for the Three Lions against the Eagle-owls, who have never lost to Sunday’s hosts. However, the same was true about Greece before Wednesday’s upset, so nothing is a given for the under-fire Carsley in Helsinki.
Finland Nations League form:
Finland form (all competitions):
England Nations League form:
England form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago
Carsley expressed hope that Harry Kane would at least make the bench on Thursday after suffering an injury while playing for Bayern Munich, but the England captain was not involved whatsoever, rendering him a massive doubt for the journey to Scandinavia too.
Kane may only be considered for minutes as a substitute if he is passed fit, and Carsley will surely now consider bringing in either Dominic Solanke or Ollie Watkins to spearhead his attack, potentially sacrificing Phil Foden in the process.
A penny for Mikel Arteta‘s thoughts when Bukayo Saka limped off with an apparent hamstring injury early in the second half against Greece; his likely absence should see either Cole Palmer or his Chelsea colleague Noni Madueke start on the right flank.
Kyle Walker, Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher could also be the beneficiaries of some necessary rotation, but Jack Grealish is also touch-and-go after sitting out Thursday’s game with a knock.
Meanwhile, Finland emerged physically unharmed from their narrow defeat to Iceland, although Sparta Prague midfielder Kaan Kairinen withdrew from the squad due to injury before this month’s fixtures began.
Kanerva’s decision to start Pohjanpalo over all-time leading scorer Teemu Pukki was initially justified on Sunday, although the latter – who is now making nets bulge in MLS for Minnesota United – may come into contention for a start this weekend given the quick turnaround time.
Finland possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Schuller, Peltola; Lod, Kamara, Antman; Pukki
England possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Walker, Guehi, Colwill, Lewis; Rice, Gallagher; Palmer, Bellingham, Gordon; Watkins
We say: Finland 0-2 England
As pitiful as England were against Greece, they now square up to a Finland side who pack much less of a punch in attack and have been permeable in defence for some time now.
Whether Carsley actually starts with a recognised number nine or not, a slightly rejigged Three Lions side should convincingly respond to Thursday’s shock loss and extinguish Finland’s already-slim hopes of a top-two finish.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.