Premier League

England’s best and worst players from much-needed victory over Finland

Jack Grealish

England returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over Finland in Helsinki on Sunday evening, delivering a far more coherent and cohesive display three days after stumbling to a muddled defeat against Greece.

Lee Carsley shelved his free-form tactical plans which produced a grand total of two shots on target in the midweek loss at Wembley, restoring some sort of shape with six changes to his starting lineup. One of those incoming additions, Jack Grealish, kickstarted a comfortable victory which wasn’t entirely devoid of scares.

Trent Alexander-Arnold doubled England‘s lead with a sweetly struck free-kick before Arttu Hoskonen pulled one back for the hosts at a corner. Declan Rice restored the visitors’ two-goal advantage in the dying embers of a much-needed victory.

Here are the figures that underpinned England’s recovery according to 90min‘s player ratings, and those who didn’t play such a key role.

Jack Grealish: 8/10

Jack Grealish

Jack Grealish has now scored twice across his last three caps / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages

Grealish scored two international goals across his first 36 appearances for England after switching allegiance from the Republic of Ireland. Manchester City’s wide man has now doubled his haul during Carsley’s brief tenure.

Making the type of penetrative dart which had been so lacking from England’s ineffective attack against Greece, Grealish latched onto Angel Gomes’ wonderfully disguised pass and cooly slotted the game’s opening goal beyond Bayer Leverkusen’s invincible goalkeeper, Lukas Hradecky.

“We needed a win today,” Grealish told England‘s media team after the contest. The 29-year-old’s ability to probe while preserving possession was instrumental in securing that victory.

Honourable mention

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 8/10

Despite lining up in an entirely new position – shunted onto his unnatural left flank – Alexander-Arnold produced another impressive performance, always looking to pierce the massed ranks of white shirts without neglecting his own defensive duties.

Even before he won a £500 bet with Grealish, topping up his match bonus by stuffing a free-kick into the top corner, the Liverpool full-back had caught the eye. As Carsley beamed post-game: “Trent’s quality speaks for itself.”

So long consigned to the fringes of the England first team despite establishing himself as one of the best right-backs in the world since his early 20s, Alexander-Arnold has “more…

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