England Vs. Finland: Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

On Tuesday night, after a dream start to Lee Carsley's tenure as England coach, the Three Lions will welcome Finland to Wembley for their second UEFA Nations League match of the month.

On Saturday, the hosts from Tuesday began the period after Gareth Southgate with a 2-0 victory against the Republic of Ireland, while their Scandinavian opponents were thrashed 3-0 by Greece, leaving them in last place.

Previous Matches and head-to-head

Two former Dublin fires haunted Heimir Hallgrimsson's men at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening, leaving the Boys in Green Green envious. Recently appointed England caretaker coach Carsley is also a former Ireland international.

Jack Grealish wasted no time celebrating his second goal against his former country. At the same time, Declan Rice, who played in a few senior internationals for Ireland before switching allegiance, knelt to apologise after curling home an opener in the eleventh minute.

It was widely believed that Rice and Grealish's goals would set the stage for an England assault, a change from Southgate's tenure when the Three Lions often rested after scoring once. However, Carsley's squad conceded a second goal after a lack of effort in the second half.

Despite this, Carsley has gained some favour with the FA as they search for a permanent replacement for Southgate. His England team is now in second place in League B Group 2, behind only Greece on goal differential.

If England's current form continued, they would be guaranteed a place in the promotion playoffs. However, before returning to League A, they must break their winless streak at Wembley. The Three Lions have not won a home Nations League game since November 2020 and have failed to score in two of their last three matches.

Under long-time head coach Markku Kanerva, Finland attempted to shock Greece a few hours after England's match with Ireland ended, but they got off to a dismal start in their latest Nations League adventure.

Panathinaikos attacker Fotis Ioannidis scored twice from the right side of the field. In contrast, Finland's Benjamin Kallman scored against his team, putting them down 3-0 and continuing a losing streak of three matches.

Fortune was off Finland's side when the seemingly unstoppable Lukas Hradecky of Bayer Leverkusen made a terrible error that gave Greece the lead (Ioannidis scored off a backpass that went straight to him). Kanerva's squad is now atop the four-team rankings.

The Huuhkajat are already struggling to maintain their second-tier position in the 2024–25 Nations League campaign, even though it is their third consecutive year in League B after topping their League C standings in the first season.

Despite not having played each other since a 2001 World Cup qualifier, the visitors have let in at least two goals in each of their past four away games. They also have a losing record against England, having lost nine of their eleven matches.

England x Finland Team News

Harry Kane, captain of England, earned his 99th appearance for his country in Saturday's victory against Ireland. The Bayern Munich star is now in line to become only the tenth player to achieve the hundred mark, and none of Carsley's England soldiers reported injuries after the game.

It would not be surprising if Carsley sticks with the same starting eleven from the victory in Dublin. Kane should be a member of the same attacking quartet as Anthony Gordon, Grealish, and Bukayo Saka.

From the bench, Eberechi Eze, Conor Gallagher, and John Stones are the first in line to be promoted, while Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento are competing for debuts after the senior baptisms of Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes.

Sparta Prague player Kaan Kairinen hurt himself before the game, and Rasmus Schuller was substituted out soon before halftime; both injuries were setbacks that Finland had to contend with during their crushing defeat at the hands of Greece.

Whether Schuller's leg issue is severe enough to miss Tuesday's game is an open question; however, Kanerva said during the match that the outlook is not promising, and rumours have it that Kairinen is also out.

After coming in as a substitute for Schuller in last weekend's loss, Urho Nissila, a Hungarian club footballer, will likely start right back. Joel Pohjanpalo and Teemu Pukki are two other strikers who may replace the own-goal victim Kallman.

Our Predictions

England to win to nil @ 1.65 on Sky247.ng

The humiliating loss that Finland suffered at the hands of the Greeks may not have happened if Hradecky hadn't made his terrible error on Saturday night, but Kanerva's players might be in for the same fate here.

We expect the Three Lions to be even more ruthless at Wembley when Carsley doubles England's lead, even though they could and should have scored more in Dublin.

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