Five issues England interim boss Lee Carsley discovered in robust Finland victory

England secured their first home victory in the Nations League since 2020 beating Finland 2-0 in a tough encounter at Wembley.

Captain Harry Kane rose to the occasion as he became just the tenth member of The Three Lions hundred club in front of a packed crowd.

The forward has received a lot of criticism this past year but kept his composure after England won the ball high up to smash home the opening goal. He doubled the lead with 15 minutes to go with a cool finish into the bottom left-hand corner as England caught Finland off guard.

Boss Lee Carsley has now made it two from two and will hope to keep up his winning start in his final game as interim boss against Greece next month.

READ MORE: Kane marks 100th cap with vintage goal as fans brand him ‘England’s best ever’

READ MORE: England fans slam Lee Carsley for ‘making it about himself’ during anthem

Harry Kane is still England’s most important player

He’s the captain for the reason and on his 100th appearance for England he constantly looked the biggest threat for The Three Lions. His performances at Euro 2024 might not have been up to his usual standard, but he’s still arguably the best striker in the world and proved that tonight.

The Bayern Munich forward was unlucky not to put England ahead in the first half having a goal ruled out for offside. A free-kick after the break forced a good save from Finland’s Hradecky before a quick turnover in possession allowed Kane to smash home to give Carsley’s men the lead before smashing home the second later on.

Solid foundations at the back

More often than not with England a leaky defence has meant scoring goals and getting ahead early on is key. However, in the past two games under Carsley The Three Lions have looked more than comfortable at the back.

Yes, they’ll be tested against tougher oppositions, but both Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa have looked solid alongside veteran John Stones. Trent Alexander-Arnold seems to have owned the right-back position during these two games and it’s hard to see anyone taking it away from him now either.

What do you make of Carsley’s first two games? Let us know in the comments section

Rico Lewis should be England’s starting left-back

Carsley hasn’t been afraid to experiment and introduce new players into the senior squad. One great thing about appointing him as interim manager is the fact he has great knowledge of England’s youngsters having managed a lot of them in the U21 setup.

One of those is Rico Lewis. The 19-year-old has fully deserved his call-up to the national team after an impressive breakthrough at Manchester City. He impressed against Finland and the left-back position is well and truly up for grabs with former regular Luke Shaw sidelined through injury yet again.

There have been rumors of City boss Pep Guardiola being on the FA’s radar for the permanent England job, so you might as well bed Lewis in now.

Pace on the wings is a must

One thing that was severely lacking in England’s run to the Euro 2024 final back in the summer was pace on either side. The Three Lions struggled to get in behind teams in Germany and Carsley seems to have realised this.

Anthony Gordon has starred in both games against the Republic of Ireland and Finland with his blistering pace down the left flank the reason why he’s a strong contender to start regularly. Carsley seems to have recognised that he needs to be used more, and the inclusion of debutant Noni Madueke on the other side offers something different too.

Kane’s brace also proves how effective 31-year-old can be if he has plenty of legs in and around him.

More to follow