The Independent
·10 September 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Independent
·10 September 2024
After getting their Nations League campaign off to a winning start on Saturday, England will be looking to make it two out of two when they face Finland at Wembley on Tuesday (19:45, ITV1).
The 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland was also the first win for interim boss Lee Carsley following Gareth Southgate’s departure after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat.
The goals came from unlikely sources in Dublin, with Jack Grealish and Declan Rice both on the scoresheet, although the fact they both have history with the Republic meant it wasn’t a surprise.
Both players featured for the nation, qualifying for through their grandparents, before opting to choose to play for England, so their goals added salt to the wounds already felt by many fans inside the stadium, who booed their every touch.
There was also a welcome return to the side for Harry Maguire, who missed Euro 2024 through injury, and he helped England to their first clean sheet in five games.
Finland arrive at Wembley on the back of a 3-0 defeat against Greece and will want to take something out of the double-header.
Harry Kane will make his 100th appearance for England on Tuesday, becoming only the 10th man to do so and the first since Wayne Rooney in 2014.
The Bayern Munich striker made his debut in 2015 and is already the country’s all-time top scorer, notching 66 goals in his 99 appearances for the Three Lions.
Kane took just 79 seconds to score his first England goal and that has set the tone for his record at international level. Since then, he has managed 46 more goals than any other England player and also has more assists than any other player in that time with 17.
Kane, 31, scored three goals in this summer’s European Championships, the last of which came from the penalty spot in the 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands.
You can get odds of 11/4 with betting sites for England to score a penalty that Kane will be a strong contender to take. Kane has already notched two goals for Bayern this term and looks to be in prime form.
Given the occasion, we like the odds of 9/4 for Kane to find the back of the net against Finland on Tuesday night.
You have to go back to November 2023 for England’s last win at Wembley but it was their last competitive home international and that night they beat Malta 2-0 with goals from Kane and an own goal from Enrico Pepe.
Since then, they have lost 1-0 to both Iceland and Brazil and drawn 2-2 with Belgium in friendlies. But when it comes to competitive fixtures, England have lost just one in 23 at Wembley.
That came against Denmark in the Nations League back in October 2020 when a penalty from Christian Eriksen secured all three points for the visitors. It was a night to forget for England who had both Reece James and Maguire sent off.
It’s hard to see anything beyond an England win against Finland and history would have to be made if it is to be anything different as the Three Lions have never lost to Finland.
You do have to go back 23 years since the two sides last met though, England winning 2-1 in the World Cup qualifier, which was played at Anfield.
Michael Owen and David Beckham were on the scoresheet that day for Sven-Göran Eriksson’s side and the former England manager will be remembered ahead of this match, following his passing last month.
Overall, they have met 11 times with England winning nine and two ending all square.
England barely moved out of second gear in their win over Ireland and could be in line for another comfortable victory.
With Kane keen to mark his special night and other players out to impress their new manager, we’re backing England to win 4-0 with a price of 15/2 available on betting apps.
Substitutes were key to England reaching the Euro 2024 in the summer with Ivan Toney, Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins all amongst those having a game-changing impact from the bench.
And, with a squad full of the quality of this England one it’s no surprise as everyone is desperate to impress, especially with a new man in charge, and whether he gets the job or not they will want to catch the eye of whoever comes in.
Jarrod Bowen only played 35 minutes at the Euros but with two goals already this season, against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, he is looking sharp and ready to improve on the 20 he managed in the last campaign for West Ham.
He was a late substitute on Saturday so we expect to see him in more of the action on Tuesday. Despite his limited action, he still forced Caoimhin Kelleher into a great save to stop him scoring his first England goal in 11 appearances.
Although the Hammers forward is not primed to start, we like Bowen’s odds to finish the scoring for the home side at Wembley to end his drought for the Three Lions.
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