Finland vs. England lineups, predicted starting 11, confirmed team news: Lee Carsley to make UEFA Nations League changes after Greece embarrassment

Joe Wright

Finland vs. England lineups, predicted starting 11, confirmed team news: Lee Carsley to make UEFA Nations League changes after Greece embarrassment image

Interim England boss Lee Carsley will likely make some changes when his team face Finland in the UEFA Nations League.

The Three Lions lost to Greece for the first time in their history on Thursday as Vangelis Pavlidis scored twice to secure a deserved 2-1 win for the visitors at Wembley.

The result means Greece are in pole position to achieve promotion to League A, making England's next game in Helsinki a must-win, both in terms of the group table and Carsley's chances of becoming the permanent successor to Gareth Southgate.

The Sporting News looks at the likely lineups for each side ahead of Sunday's fixture.

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Finland vs. England lineups, predicted starting 11, team news

Head coach Markku Kanerva could consider some changes after watching his side surrender a lead to lose 2-1 at home to the Republic of Ireland.

Oliver Antman is an option to come in to bolster the home side's effectiveness going forward, but Finland's shape is likely to be more conservative given the opposition.

Matti Peltola offers a more defensive alternative to reinforce midfield, having started the 2-0 loss at Wembley in September. Teemu Pukki could also return to the lineup, although Joel Pohjanpalo's goal against Ireland may count in his favour.

Finland predicted XI (4-3-3, right to left): Hradecky (GK) — Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Galvez — Schuller, Kamara, Peltola — Lod, Pukki, Antman

Full squad:

Goalkeepers: Lukas Hradecky, Jesse Joronen, Viljami Sinisalo

Defenders: Tomas Galvez, Leo Vaisanen, Robert Ivanov, Arttu Hoskonen, Adam Stahl, Juhani Pikkarainen, Miro Tenho, Nikolai Alho, Jere Uronen, Ilmari Niskanen

Midfielders: Matti Peltola, Glen Kamara, Robin Lod, Rasmus Schuller, Kaan Kairinen, Anssi Suhonen, Urho Nissila, Leo Walta

Forwards: Oliver Antman, Fredrik Jensen, Teemu Pukki, Benjamin Kallman, Joel Pohjanpalo, Topi Keskinen

Interim England boss Carsley freely admitted his 4-2-2-2 setup against Greece was a gamble that didn't pay off, so he will likely revert to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 system here.

Harry Kane should return to the lineup after sitting out the defeat at Wembley. Carsley confirmed the striker came through training on Saturday, along with Jack Grealish, who will be eager to be involved.

Bukayo Saka's injury in that game means all of Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer could keep their places in the 11, although it feels more likely that at least one of Grealish or Anthony Gordon will start.

We might see Angel Gomes slot back into midfield alongside Declan Rice, while there could be changes in defence after a torrid showing from the back four against Greece. Marc Guehi and Kyle Walker could start, while there may be a debut for Newcastle United left-back Tino Livramento.

England predicted XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Pickford (GK) — Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Livramento — Gomes, Rice — Palmer, Bellingham, Grealish — Kane

Injured: Bukayo Saka, Curtis Jones

Full squad:

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope, Dean Henderson

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Levi Colwill

Midfielders: Conor Gallagher, Angel Gomes, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Jack Grealish

Forwards: Harry Kane, Ollie Watkins, Dominic Solanke, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke

What time does Finland vs. England kick off?

This UEFA Nations League match takes place at Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland and kicks off on Sunday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major global territories:

 DateKickoff time
USASun, Oct. 1312:00 p.m. ET
CanadaSun, Oct. 1312:00 p.m. ET
AustraliaMon, Oct. 143:00 a.m. AEDT
UKSun, Oct. 135:00 p.m. BST
IndiaSun, Oct. 139:30 p.m. IST

Finland vs. England live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch this UEFA Nations League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:

RegionTVStreaming
USAFox Sports 1Fubo, Fox Sports App, Foxsports.com
CanadaDAZN
UKITV 1 UK, STV Scotland, UTVITVX, STV Player
AustraliaOptus Sport
IndiaSony TEN 2Sony LIV, JioTV

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Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.