Monday, December 23, 2024

England v Finland LIVE: Nations League line-ups as Harry Kane set for 100th cap

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Harry Kane will make his 100th appearance for England (The FA via Getty Images)

England host Finland at Wembley tonight as the Three Lions look to take maximum points from their first two fixtures of the 2025 Nations League campaign – on what is Harry Kane’s 100th appearance for his country.

Lee Carsley’s team strolled to a 2-0 win over Ireland last time out, with Declan Rice and Jack Grealish grabbing the goals as a new-look Three Lions dominated possession and provided plenty of attacking threat. And England’s players will be looking to put in a solid performance as they face Finland, with two squad players still to make their debuts and others keen to cement themselves in the interim manager’s thoughts.

Finland lost 3-0 to Greece in their first fixture, so England will be confident of securing a result, but the performance will arguably be scrutinised more than the scoreline as Carlsey looks to take a step towards the permanent position.

Follow all the latest updates from the Nations League match between England and Finland below.

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Harry Kane gives his reaction to reaching 100 caps for England

“When you look at the list [of players with 100 caps] it is a list of some our greatest players,” said Harry Kane, according by the BBC. “I’m sure when I’m retired I’ll look back on this with immense pride.”

Kane also revealed his next aim will be trying to reach 100 goals. He is already England’s all-time top scorer with 66 goals in 99 appearances in an almost-decade long career that started with his first cap in March 2015.

“I’ve done around 15, 16, 17 caps a year whereas a normal year would be 10,” he added, “The goals were similar. I felt I was on 30 goals and then I went to 50 and then 60.

“It is definitely there and definitely possible. I feel like I am in a good place and these are good targets to try to reach.

“Some people may see them as unrealistic but I would rather go for something unrealistic and not quite make it rather than be comfortable just saying I will be happy with 70 or 80 goals.”

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:40

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Harry Kane wears golden boots before reaching special milestone

The Football Association are planning a pre-match ceremony which will include a golden cap presentation.

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:35

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England vs Finland prediction

England will be looking to build on last week’s positive result against Ireland, with plenty of players looking to impress as they look to cement a place in the squad under Carsley.

Finland lost 3-0 to Greece last time out, so the Three Lions should find it straightforward to grab a comfortable win at home and get the interim manager’s tenure off to the perfect start.

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:30

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Latest odds and predicted line-ups

Here’s how we think England and Finland will line-up against each other this evening:

England XI: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Colwill; Mainoo, Rice, Grealish; Saka, Kane, Gordon.

Finland XI: Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Galvez; Peltola, Schuller; Lod, Kamara, Antman; Kallman.

As for the latest odds, England are the overwhelming favourites to win with Finland as high as 14/1 to spring a surprise on the Three Lions at Wembley. The latests odds:

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:25

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Finland early team news

Finland manager Markku Kanerva is also free from injury worries, with former Rangers man Glen Kamara likely to retain his spot in the forward line, and former Norwich striker Teemu Pukki likely to be benched again in favour of Benjamin Kallman.

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:20

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England early team news

Lee Carsley has no fresh injury concerns to consider after the Ireland match, so all he needs to decide is whether he wants to go with continuity or experiment with some new faces. Harry Kane will start as the captain becomes the 10th man to win 100 caps for England.

Pickford, Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Saka and Kane are the only concrete names on the teamsheet in this squad, though impressive performances from Jack Grealish and Anthony Gordon should have cemented their places for now.

Maguire and Guehi were solid at the back last week, but John Stones is still England’s best defender, so it remains to be seen whether Carsley will go with Southgate’s preferred pairing of Stones and Maguire, or if he may choose the left-footed Guehi as Stones’ ideal partner.

There is space for Tino Livramento to replace Colwill at left-back, though the Chelsea man was also assured in his performance last week. Carsley may look to experiment with Angel Gomes in midfield over Kobbie Mainoo too.

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:15

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How can I watch it?

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on ITV1. Subscribers will also be able to watch via ITVX online and on the app.

If you’re travelling abroad and want to watch major sporting events, you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN round-up is here to help and includes deals on VPNs in the market. Viewers using a VPN need to make sure that they comply with any local regulations where they are, and also with the terms of their service provider.

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:10

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When is England vs Finland?

England vs Finland kicks off at 7.45pm BST on Tuesday 10 September at Wembley Stadium in London.

(The FA via Getty Images)

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:05

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England vs Finland

Despite receiving plenty of pre-match attention for his squad announcement and his opinion on singing the national anthem, Carsley quickly put that to bed as his side produced a first-half attacking performance full of intent and innovation, with Declan Rice and Jack Grealish – both on the receiving end of plenty of boos throughout – producing brilliant moments to effectively seal the result within the first 45 minutes.

England will be confident of putting in a similarly dominant performance at home to Iceland, with plenty of intrigue surrounding the team’s performance and potential debuts for Tino Livramento and Noni Madueke.

Mike Jones10 September 2024 17:00

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Good evening!

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s Nations League action as England take on Finland at Wembley.

Fresh off the back of their 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland, Lee Carsely’s Three Lions will be hoping to build on a positive display and dominant display over the Irish which saw Jack Grealish and Declan Rice score the only goals of the game.

Captain Harry Kane is set to win his 100th cap for England and will join an exclusive club of centurions which features the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham.

For their part, Finland were beaten 3-0 in their opening group fixture against Greece and face a difficult challenge in London this evening.

We’ll have all the team news, line-ups and updates throughout the night so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 7.45pm.

Mike Jones10 September 2024 15:58

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