England vs Finland

England’s bid to secure an immediate return to UEFA Nations League A continues at Wembley Stadium against out-of-sorts Finland.

A second successive runner-up finish at the European Championships was the final act of Gareth Southgate as the England manager, with the long-serving boss stepping down from his position immediately after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Spain in the grand final of Euro 2024. Interim coach Lee Carsley couldn’t have hoped for a better start to his temporary tenure as the Three Lions scored two unanswered first-half goals to beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in their first-ever League B outing. England’s vivid performance in that clash earned Carsley a round of applause in the country, with one of Europe’s most formidable teams generating more shots on target and a higher xG than in any Euro 2024 game. Another straightforward win is on the cards for England as they’re up against a side they’ve not lost to across their previous 11 meetings (W9, D2).

Such an underwhelming H2H record spells trouble for Finland, especially following an unceremonious start to their third successive League B campaign, which saw them lose 3-0 to Greece on matchday one. The visitors’ dire form in 2024 fuels the skepticism around the traveling camp (W1, D1, L3), with Markku Kanerva’s team ominously conceding multiple goals in every winless outing in that stretch. Despite locking down a top-two finish in the last two Nations League iterations, Finland’s only goal in this group may be to cling to their second-tier status, given their underdog status in all five remaining games. They can fall back on their decent record of winning six of their 13 fixtures at this level (D2, L5), though four of their last five away games ended in defeat (D1).