Lee Carsley made it two wins from two as interim England manager with a comfortable triumph over Finland at Wembley Stadium.
Competing in the second tier of the Nations League following relegation from Group A, England are in a strong position to make an immediate return.
Harry Kane breached the Finnish backline midway through the first half, but the England skipper’s headed effort was quickly ruled out for offside.
Making his 100th appearance for the national side, Kane refused to be kept quiet all night, coming close once again with a drilled free-kick, before eventually snatching a goal just before the hour mark.
Kane added a second late on with an equally emphatic finish, wrapping up a strong international break for the Euro 2024 runners-up.
England will return to action next month when they take on fellow League B Group 2 high-flyers Greece at Wembley, before heading to Finland for the return fixture against Tuesday night’s opponents.
Following Carsley’s second victory in interim charge, Express Sport detail the biggest talking points from the Finland win…
Lee Carsley makes fresh Gareth Southgate tweak
Given his pedigree as England’s under-21 manager, it’s perhaps no surprise Carsley was so keen to hand out debuts to some of his former Young Lions.
Angel Gomes and Morgan Gibbs-White featured for the first time during England’s victory against Ireland in Dublin, with Noni Madueke becoming the latest debutant against Finland.
It marked a refreshing change from the Gareth Southgate premiership, when young talents might’ve made the bench, but their hopes of getting on the pitch were often slim from the off.
The talent is there and Carsley isn’t afraid to use it.
Senior stars left fretting after Young Lions impressive
Aside from the manager, it’s felt like a different England side to the one that trudged its way to the Euro 2024 final just a matter of months ago.
Part of that is down to the players absent from the squad, with no Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Luke Shaw or Kyle Walker.
And while England’s opponents during the September international break haven’t been particularly testing, the fresh-faced Three Lions squad have fared comfortably in the quartet’s absence.
You’d expect the majority of England’s big names to walk back into the fold when available, but positive performances from the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jack Grealish, Anthony Gordon, Levi Colwill and Rico Lewis will pose a question for Carsley heading into the next international break.
Man Utd left red-faced by Gomes showings for England
Ironically, Gomes is just the player Erik ten Hag could do with right now.
A ball-dominant midfielder who can comfortably retain possession and spring counter-attacks of his own would slot straight into the Red Devils starting XI alongside fellow academy product Kobbie Mainoo.
Gomes left Manchester United back in 2020 and has forged out a successful career with Ligue 1 side Lille.
Maybe the grass is greener away from Old Trafford?
Much-loved Sven remembered fondly by England
Before proceedings got underway, both sets of players paid tribute to the much-loved Sven-Goran Eriksson.
The Swede, who became the first non-British manager to take charge of the national team in 2001, passed away last month.
Prior to kick-off, a minute’s silence was held, while the official England X account shared a heart-warming video detailing some of Sven’s fondest memories in charge of the Three Lions.
Eriksson was in charge for five years and led England to three major tournaments.