Finland v England LIVE: Lee Carsley faces Ollie Watkins dilemma in Nations League

‘Carsball’ in question

Carsley’s decision to deploy five attackers without an out-and-out striker backfired against Greece, leaving England rudderless without the ball and toothless with it in an alarming all-round display.

The interim manager pledged to stick with his attack-minded approach, but a more familiar system will be in place in Helsinki.

“Probably won’t try that again on Sunday,” Carsley said. “I have coached enough to know we need to do something different. Had Harry been fit I might have gone down another route.”

Interim England boss Lee Carsley expects a reaction to the deflating defeat to Greece as he returns to a “more conventional” system against Finland.

The Euro 2024 runners-up’s hopes of securing promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League received a blow on Thursday as Greece secured a late, but thoroughly deserved, 2-1 victory at Wembley.

Boos met the final whistle after Carsley’s experimental approach backfired, with the decision to deploy five attackers without an out-and-out striker leaving them imbalanced and disjointed.

Interim boss Lee Carsley has revealed he did not formally apply to become permanent England manager.

Carsley has frequently sidestepped questions about whether he wants to become England boss on a full-time basis, including saying he will “hopefully” be returning to his role with the under-21s.

When is Finland v England?

The Nations League match takes place today, Sunday 13 October, with kick-off at 5pm BST at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.

Finland v England will be broadcast live on ITV1 and STV in Scotland. Viewers can stream the match live via the ITVX app and website, and on the STV Player.

England must react with a more convincing performance and Carsley will surely find a better balance in this match, with an orthodox striker like Ollie Watkins set to lead the line. 

Finland: Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Galvez; Lod, Walta, Kamara, Schuller, Peltola; Pohjanpalo.

England: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Lewis; Gomes, Rice, Bellingham; Palmer, Watkins, Foden.

England could be without Bukayo Saka after the Arsenal winger limped out of the defeat by Greece.

Harry Kane could come off the bench in Finland, but Carsley confirmed that the captain will not start the game after recently suffering a leg injury while playing for Bayern Munich.

But the trip to Helsinki offers the chance for a quick response.

Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of tonight’s Nations League match between England and Finland in Helsinki.

The Three Lions look to take three points against the side that sit bottom of their group as they bid to recover from the midweek loss against Greece.

We’ll have all the latest build-up and updates here.