As much as this match rightfully became about Harry Kane, there was something else it resembled as Lee Carsley’s England fluidly worked the ball to the centurion for his 67th and 68th international goals. It was like one of the top Premier League teams patiently moving a Championship side around until the gaps presented themselves.
That is intended to be much more positive than it sounds, even if nights like this show – well – the less exhilarating side of the Nations League. International football isn’t all tournament intensity where emotions are pushed to the limits. It is usually this kind of night, especially if you are an elite-level squad relegated to the competition’s second division, as England are.
A limited but respectable side like Finland will dig in and make it difficult for you, potentially making it a long night.
What was so encouraging about a performance as otherwise forgettable as a 2-0 home win, though, was that England never let any of that weigh on them. They never got bogged down. They kept playing, yes, “Carsball”. That’s where we are now.
That’s why it was such a good thing that England looked like a top Premier League side looking to open a lesser outfit. It wasn’t about the toil but how much closer it looked to the progressive football that now dominates the top of the game. There was no drama. They knew what they were about. As Kane himself said: “We know if we kept getting the runners, the goal would come.”
England’s movement was ultimately too much.
Carsley has instilled this in a very short period of time, even if it should go without saying that there is still an awful lot to do before he gets the job, or wins a tournament. Some of that shouldn’t be a surprise, since virtually all of the players have now developed through such ideologies. You could see in the poise of Angel Gomes, and the assist from substitute Noni Madueke. Jack Grealish was meanwhile again revelling in the fluid role he was afforded, with Anthony Gordon once more looking like he can be a star under Carsley.
What is already impressive from Carsley is how quickly he has instilled that in an international side. Finland manager Markku Kanerva didn’t want to get into comparing this England to Gareth Southgate’s but such a question did bring a pause as he seemed so struck by how “dynamic” Carsley’s team felt. Numerous international sides, beyond perhaps Spain, illustrate that it isn’t necessarily a seamless process. This is what Carsley meant when he spoke last week about knowing what is required in international weeks.
Kane, meanwhile, showed what is needed. All of this might seem a circuitous route to get back to the individual this team performance became about, but it is genuinely about how it all links up. And, specifically, how Kane links up.
He picked a perfect night to show what he can do in a Carsley team, the level of opposition notwithstanding. The build-up to Kane’s 100th cap, after all, was dominated by the player himself repeatedly raising the idea of proving people wrong. The latest doubt has been whether a striker who looked much less mobile during Euro 2024 can fit into a team that is evidently going to.
Kane here did more than just fit. He showed what even the most progressive teams can miss in the modern game. It was something else he raised on the eve of this match. That’s the difference a prolific No 9 can make. That obviously sounds so simple, but there’s a lot going on there, not least how the modern game has evolved and is almost phase nines out.
Teams tend to be more about fluidity and angles of attack.
Kane, meanwhile, just whacked it into the net. He even described his first, which was powered in off the bar to break the deadlock on 57 minutes, as maybe one of his favourite goals for England. It was hit with extreme purity. The 68th international goal didn’t take long to follow, as Kane gave an illustration of one-touch finishing. That was all the more pointed since an interview to celebrate his 100th cap saw Kane talk at length about the need for attackers to hone their finishing through “realistic” sessions. They involve balls coming at you in match scenarios, where it is fluid, and not necessarily clean. He specifically focused on one-touch finishes and this seemed a product of that.
That’s perhaps the most fitting way to celebrate your 100th cap: a display of all the qualities that got you there in the first place.
What is most relevant, though, is that this wasn’t Kane almost operating as a separate part of the build-up play in a way that has been discussed of late. He was fully integrated, his runs and touches complementing all the movement around him. Carsley said he “fit really well”. It was, as Kane put it himself, close to perfect.
That doesn’t mean England are the complete team. We don’t have to get carried away. It is just Nations League B.
It is something new, though, as Kane keeps doing what he always does.