Key talking points as England continue Nations League campaign against Finland

Football Mad -

Lee Carsley’s England continue their Nations League campaign against Finland on Tuesday evening.

Ahead of the Group B2 clash at Wembley, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the main talking points.

Kane becomes a centurion

Tuesday’s match will see skipper Harry Kane join an elite band of players to have won 100 senior caps for England. The striker has come a long way since his goalscoring debut against Lithuania in March 2015, going on to break the all-time national scoring record set by Wayne Rooney – the last player to reach a century of appearances a decade ago. Kane currently sits on 66 goals and you would be a brave man to back against him celebrating reaching this latest milestone by adding to that tally on Tuesday, when the England captain will be presented with a golden cap before kick-off.

Carsley’s first Wembley match

England interim manager Lee Carsley laying out the player bibs during a training session (Nick Potts/PA)

Lee Carsley leads England at Wembley for the first time, three days on from starting his interim reign with an encouraging 2-0 win away to the Republic of Ireland, who he represented as a player. The England Under-21s boss has never coached at the national stadium before and wants to excite fans in their first match there since losing June’s Euro 2024 send-off friendly against Iceland. “I think it’s important that we’re exciting to watch,” Carsley said on the eve of the game. “I think when fans come to watch England play at home they expect attacking football, they expect chances to be created and to play with a tempo and us to be on the ball.”

England changes on the cards

While Carsley will not take beating Finland for granted, the interim boss is planning some changes for Tuesday’s match. The 50-year-old says he wants to “freshen the team up a little bit” and plans two or three alterations as he balances team and player needs. Tino Livramento and Noni Madueke will be hoping to make their debuts having seen Angel Gomes and Morgan Gibbs-White win their first caps off the bench on Saturday. John Stones, a late introduction at the Aviva Stadium, will surely come into the defence.

Remembering Sven

The match against Finland is England’s first home game since the death of popular former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. The Swede, who led the team at three major international tournaments from 2001 to 2006, died at the age of 76 on August 26 after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Players will wear black armbands, just as they did in Ireland, and there will be a period of applause ahead of kick-off on a night when the deaths of Craig Shakespeare, Kevin Campbell and Tommy Banks will also be acknowledged.