New Delhi: England will host Finland at Wembley Stadium for the UEFA Nations League 2024-25. This will be Lee Carsley’s first game in the English soil after taking charge of the Three Lions as an interim manager. His first game as the coach saw the England team win 2-0 over Ireland. On the other hand, Finland suffered a humbling 3-0 loss at the hands of Greece.
Carsley was himself a former player of the Republic of Ireland and engineered a brilliant win for England. The two scorers in the game were both originally Irish by birth and heritage. While Declan Rice, who had played a few games for Ireland, abstained from celebrating his goal, Jack Grealish was overjoyed after doubling the English score.
Carsley’s team has seen a transition from Gareth Southgate’s side. Against Ireland, the team looked more determined and didn’t play a safe game. Rather, after the first goal, they pressed for the second one within 15 minutes of breaking the deadlock in order to keep the lead intact. The second half saw England bring a little less intensity on the pitch.
For his part, Carsley has made a case for becoming Southgate’s permanent successor. The Three Lions are now sitting in second place in League B in Group 2, behind Greece just on goal difference. That is enough for England to be promoted into the playoffs. In order to return to League A, they have to perform well at Wembley, where they haven’t had much success in recent years, with two instances where England failed to score.
Finland had looked confident on inflicting a loss on Greece on their soil. Under Markku Kanerva, the side suffered a humiliating loss as they started the Nations League. Fotis Loannidis made an early impact with a 23rd minute goal before scoring a brace at the 76th minute. Before halftime, Benjamin Kallman of Finland, made an own goal.
The drubbing started with Lukas Hradecky giving away the first goal to Greece, letting the pass go under his feet. It just wasn’t Finland’s game, as nothing fell in favour of the side. The team now looks close to facing relegation.
After topping League C in the inaugural Nations League, this edition marks their third consecutive appearance in League B. However, they are struggling to retain the position this year. In their last five games, they have conceded at least twice, which is a cause for worry for the team.
Team News
The English team hasn’t reported any injury before the game, in what will Harry Kane’s 100th match for the side. Kane will be in an unchanged attacking quarter alongside Grealish, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon. It is likely that Carseley will look to keep the same XI that won him his maiden game foe England.
Eberechi Eze, John Stone and Conor Gallagher will still be in contention for a promotion from the bench, with Tino Livramento and Noni Madueke looking to make debuts. In the previous game, Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes had already made theirs on the senior team from the bench.
Finland has a few cases of injuries to their name after their match against Greece. Midfielder Kaan Kairinen was already out of the previous game with an injury before the match, while Rasmus Schuller had gone off the field right before halftime.
There has been no confirmation on Schuller’s performance yet though Knerva has indicated that medical test results weren’t pointing to an immediate return to action. Urho Nissila had substituted for Schuller and will be in the starting XI of the team. Joel Pohjanpalo and Teemu Pukki are the alternate options for the Nissila.
Head to head
England have never lost a single game against Finland and have won a total of nine games from 11 games. However, the teams haven’t met each other since 2001 World Cup qualifiers.
Predicted lineups
England: Pickfrord; Alexander-Arnold, Guehi, Maguire, Colwill; Mainoo, Rice, Grealish; Saka, Kane, Gordon
Finland: Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Peltola, Nissila; Lod, Kamara, Antman; Pohjanpalo
Where to watch
England vs Finland will be live broadcast on Sony Sports Network and live streamed on SonyLiv at 12:15 A.M. IST on September 10, 2024. Latvia vs Faroe Islands will be broadcast at 9:30 PM IST. Ireland vs Greece and Albania vs. Georgia games will be broadcast at 12:15 A.M. IST.
Match Predictions
Though the two teams haven’t met each other since 2001, England will look to continue their form and their unbeaten record over Finland. Finland could face yet another goalless 2-0 loss.
UEFA Nations League 2024/25: England will come into the competition with a renewed confidence as their Scandinavian counter-part Finland will try to win their first game against the English side. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
