By Simon Peach, PA Chief Football Writer, Helsinki
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.
Fully prepared for tomorrow 💪 pic.twitter.com/5HuwHpFe9w
— England (@England) October 12, 2024
Jude Bellingham played as a false nine in the absence of injured skipper Harry Kane, who is available as England return to a more familiar formation in Finland on Sunday.
“I think it’s always tough, the scrutiny that we’re under,” Carsley said of the criticism that met the defeat to Greece.
“It’s nothing that I’m not used to having been a professional footballer for such a long time.
“I think the reaction is fair enough. You have to respect people’s opinions. We didn’t perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction tomorrow night.
“I think it’s something that I’ll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
“I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn’t want to have any regrets.
“It was important that we do try something different at times and I think I’ll be a better coach for that, but I think we’ll probably be a little bit more conventional tomorrow night.”
The return to a more standard system likely means skipper Kane leads the line a month on from marking his 100th cap with both goals in a 2-0 Wembley win against Finland.
Jack Grealish is also available after joining the England skipper in sitting out the Greece defeat with a knock of his own, but Bukayo Saka and Curtis Jones left the camp ahead of the trip to Finland.
“We trained yesterday as well, so Harry and Jack both got through the session,” Carsley said.
“We’re in a good position. I think it’s important that we freshen the team up a little bit, but, yeah, we feel confident we’re in a good place.”
A sell-out crowd awaits at the Olympiastadion as England make their first visit to Finland since interim manager Howard Wilkinson oversaw a 0-0 draw in Helsinki 24 years.
England have not lost in 12 previous meetings with the Nordic nation, but they had not been defeated by Greece until Thursday and Carsley expects a tough challenge.
“We’re very respectful of the team,” he said. “We found it very difficult at Wembley to break the team down, especially in the first 45 minutes.
“I think they’ll feel quite confident that they can stifle us and it’s a team that we feel very well prepared for.”
On our way to Helsinki 🫡 pic.twitter.com/Gq7LkU3zkU
— England (@England) October 12, 2024
Finland are the lowest ranked team in England’s Nations League group and Thursday’s 2-1 home loss to the Republic of Ireland means they have yet to register a point.
That run of defeats is expected to be extended by England, who are three points behind Greece and can ill afford to lose any more ground ahead of next month’s key clash in Athens.
“(Promotion) was the objective that was set out at the start of the campaign,” the interim boss said. “It’s one that we’re heading towards. Really important.
“The qualification for the World Cup is, is something that is also a priority, so it’s important that we get back on track.”
