England bounced back from their defeat against Greece at Wembley on Thursday with a 3-1 victory over Finland on Sunday evening. Greece beat Ireland 2-0 last night meaning that they sit top of UEFA Nations League Group 2 in League B, with England sitting second. The game saw fairly little to split the two sides heading into the second half, but it was the introduction of Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins that swung the game in England's favour.
Former Villa star Jack Grealish gave England the lead after 18 minutes, slotting into the far corner after being played through by a wonderful through ball by Angel Gomes. That was as good as it got for England in the first half as, despite having the majority of the possession, they were unable to register another shot on target and Finland were growing into the game. The half-time score was 1-0 to the Three Lions.
Ollie Watkins changes the game for England
England's all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane once again had very little influence on proceedings and the patterns in play that we saw at the Euroopean Championships in the summer were evident once more. The England captain insisted on dropping deep into midfield to try and influence the game from midfield, leaving the team with no output in the forward area and no one to stretch the Finnish defence.
Think Harry Kane has adopted the new position of center-defensive-forward... 👀
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) October 13, 2024
The fact I've just seen him stood closer to England's goal than Declan Rice who's playing central midfield... 😬
Despite the manager change from Gareth Southgate to Lee Carsley, this last week has looked too familiar for England fans. No energy. No excitement in the forward areas.
Thankfully for England, Harry Kane was withdrawn from the game with 20 minutes left to play and Ollie Watkins was brought on in his place, alongside Chelsea winger Noni Madueke. Instantly the change brought a different and more threatening dynamic. Watkins' willingness to run in behind the defence caused problems right from the off. Just three minutes after coming on, Watkins spun in behind the defence and latched onto a long ball from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Keeping the ball alive, playing a neat one-two with Grealish before laying off the pass to Bellingham who was fouled on the edge of the area. Something England hadn't seen in the 72 minutes before that. That free-kick, effectively won as a result of Watkins' running and hard work up top, was placed into the top corner magnificently by Alexander-Arnold to double England's lead.
Watkins continued to cause problems and his ability to stretch the defence saw England on the brink of a third goal on several occasions. With five minutes of normal time left to play, England did have their third and again it was due to the excellent of the Aston Villa man. Picking the ball up inside his own half down the left-hand side, Watkins drove at pace at the Finland defender, beating him to the by-line and squaring the ball across the box for Declan Rice to tap home from a few yards out. Finland scored a late consolation through Arttu Hoskonen to see the game finish 3-1 to England.
As it was at the European Championships, England's ability to break down the opposition defence with Harry Kane in the side was poor. Despite his goalscoring ability over the years for both club and country, there are many calls for Kane to call time on his England career as many believe he is holding the team back, which is full of attacking talent.
For Ollie Watkins, he has to simply take the chances when they come and he continues to do so in a Villa and England shirt. His winning goal for England against the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final in the summer showed England fans that he can replicate his Villa form in an England shirt, and now many are calling for Watkins to be England's leading man up top. He will be hoping to continue his fine start to the season when Aston Villa take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
UTV