Lee Carsley will make his debut as England manager at Wembley, as the Three Lions face Finland in their second UEFA Nations League match of the month.

England

Fin

Match Stats

On Saturday evening, England's new caretaker manager, Lee Carsley, saw two of his former Irish teammates make an impact against their old national side at the Aviva Stadium. Declan Rice, who had previously played for Ireland before switching allegiance, apologized after scoring the opening goal in the 11th minute. Jack Grealish, however, celebrated emphatically after adding a second goal. Despite these goals signaling a potential England onslaught, the team only scored twice, unlike under Southgate’s tenure where they might have scored more.

Carsley’s debut has earned him some favor with the FA as they search for a permanent successor to Southgate, and England is currently second in League B Group 2, behind Greece only on goal difference. This standing would place them in the promotion playoffs, but they need to overcome a poor home record in Nations League games, having not won at Wembley since November 2020.

Meanwhile, Finland, coached by Markku Kanerva, suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to Greece. Finland's Benjamin Kallman scored an own goal, and Lukas Hradecky made a crucial error leading to Greece's first goal. Finland is now last in the group and has not won in their last three matches. With a history of never beating England in their 11 encounters, they face a challenging battle to maintain their League B status.