Predictions Nations League - Finland vs England

Nations League - Finland vs England
Match Time: 13-10-2024 23:00 Sunday (GMT+7)
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In the wake of the tragic death of former Sheffield United and Greece right-back George Baldock at the age of just 31, Thursday's visitors to Wembley requested that their clash with England be postponed, only to be told that the match had to be played just 24 hours after his passing.

Despite being in mourning at the loss of their former teammate, Greece played an experimental England side off the park in the capital and deservedly left with a first-ever win over the Three Lions under their belts courtesy of a Vangelis Pavlidis double in the second half.

Jude Bellingham's drive had temporarily restored parity for England, but not a single soul could claim that the Three Lions deserved anything from Thursday's game, where Greece had another few goals disallowed as they carved Carsley's disjointed troops open at will.

Now three points behind the Greeks in second place in League B Group 2 - which would only suffice for a relegation/promotion playoff - England now endeavour to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since June 2022, where their home humiliation against Hungary preceded a 1-0 defeat to Italy in the Nations League.

A bullish Carsley affirmed that he would happily put out another striker-less system after Thursday's game, even though the 50-year-old's tactical tweaks backfired spectacularly, but reverting to type will surely be the answer against a pointless Finland outfit.

Sharing the same fate as their upcoming visitors on matchday three, Finland momentarily looked on track to make it third time lucky in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, having failed to pick up a point or indeed score a goal in September's double-header.

Joel Pohjanpalo's 17th-minute strike saw Markku Kanvera's crop take a slender lead into the interval against Ireland, only for Robbie Brady to inspire the Boys in Green to a second-half turnaround; the former Burnley winger set up Liam Scales's equaliser before striking an 88th-minute winner.

Finland are competing in the second tier of the Nations League for the third campaign running, but the Eagle-owls are currently on a one-way street back down to League C, propping up the Group 2 standings in fourth place after three consecutive defeats.

The hosts' defensive frailties have been laid bare throughout the calendar year, as they have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last eight matches across all competitions and have shipped multiple goals in six of their last seven games, including each of their last five.

Finland also succumbed to a Harry Kane brace - on his 100th England appearance, no less - when they made the trek to Wembley last month, which made it 10 wins from 12 for the Three Lions against the Eagle-owls, who have never lost to Sunday's hosts. However, the same was true about Greece before Wednesday's upset, so nothing is a given for the under-fire Carsley in Helsinki.

Prediction: Finland 0-2 England