TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD showed his brilliance as Harry Kane’s brace saw England beat Finland.
Interim boss Lee Carsley maintained his 100 per cent win record in charge of England.
Kane was the main focus of the match as he completed his century of appearances for the Three Lions.
After a few attempts, the captain finally got his name on the scoresheet to mark his milestone outing for England.
The striker was a constant thorn in the Finland defence and was unlucky not to score more as he saw a spectacular overhead kick and free-kick well saved.
But it was Trent Alexander-Arnold who impressed the most with a classy performance.
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Declan Rice however was far from his best and he was lucky not have given up a goal with a sloppy mistake.
SunSports Tom Barclay has given their ratings of the England players…
Jordan Pickford – 6
Had nothing to do
Trent Alexander-Arnold – STAR MAN 9
England’s best player as he supplied some beautiful balls from deep that on another day would have led to a glut of assists.
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He did get one in the end, although that was more thanks to Harry Kane’s lethal finishing.
Ezri Konsa – 6
Showed his ability on the ball with a super ball through for Bukayo Saka on the half hour.
England players with 100 caps
Here is a list all the players to reach 100 caps for England…
- Peter Shilton – 125
- Wayne Rooney – 120
- David Beckham – 115
- Steven Gerrard – 114
- Bobby Moore – 108
- Ashley Cole – 107
- Bobby Charlton – 106
- Frank Lampard – 106
- Billy Wright – 105
- Harry Kane – 100
Twisted his ankle early in the second half, surprisingly played on before being replaced on the hour.
John Stones – 6
Played at left-sided centre-back before shifting when Levi Colwill came on. Solid though not much to deal with.Now 19 short of 100 caps. 6.
Rico Lewis – 7
In the right place to snuff out early danger from ex-Norwich man Teemu Pukki. Came close to a goal on his second England cap when prodding wide after the break.
Declan Rice – 5
Lost possession to give Finland their one and only big chance which Topi Kesinen should have squared to Pukki, but instead fired wildly over.
Angel Gomes – 7
Wanted the ball from the off, just like Lee Carsley thought he would. Deliciously drilled cross-field ball to Alexander-Arnold early doors showed his range.
Bukayo Saka -7
Almost scored and almost assisted in a lively display. Unlucky that Kane was millimetres offside after the centurion had headed home the Arsenal man’s wicked delivery.
Jack Grealish – 7
Enjoyed being in the heart of the action at No10 again, as he did on Saturday against the Republic of Ireland.
Carsley clearly likes him – it will be fascinating to see what happens when Bellingham, Foden and Palmer all return. 7
Anthony Gordon – 7
Caused problems down the left with his rapid pace – how we needed some of that in the Euros.
But did not have on his shooting boots as he fluffed a decent chance early in the second half.
Harry Kane – 8
Two blistering finishes took the centurion to an astonishing 68 goals in 100 caps.
Was denied the chance of a hat-trick in front of his family when subbed off to a standing ovation for the final ten. Kane said he fancies his chances of reaching a ton of international goals – and it does not seem fanciful.
Subs:
Levi Colwill (on for Konsa, 61): Next to no threat from Finland by the time he came on. 6
Eberechi Eze (on for Gordon, 66): Raced on to yet another special Trent pass but could not loop it over the keeper. 6
Noni Madueke (on for Saka, 66): Looked to make an impact every time he got the ball on debut. Excellent one-two with Trent saw the Chelsea man tee up Kane’s second. 7
Marc Guehi (on for Stones, 80): As with Colwill, little to do. 6
Jarrod Bowen (on for Kane, 81): Played up top after Kane went off for the final minutes, as he has done for West Ham. 6
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Lee Carsley: Two games down, two 2-0 wins. In truth, the first half was quite dull fare against the Finland’s ten men behind the ball. But the quality shone through, as well it should have given the gulf in class and mainly thanks to Kane’s shooting prowess.
Alexander-Arnold shone as he was given licence and trust by Carsley at right-back and Angel Gomes looked unfazed on debut. Not a victory to write home about but nothing wrong either. 6
Harry Kane reveals his favourite England goals
HARRY KANE is already England’s all-time record goalscorer.
But the Three Lions skipper will NOT be stopping there.
To mark his 100th cap for his country, Kane spoke to SunSport’s CHARLIE WYETT about some of his special England goals….
FIRST ENGLAND GOAL
“My debut v Lithuania. March 2015.
“There was a lot of talk in the build-up to that camp because I was playing well for Spurs.
“I got a great reception and within a couple of minutes I scored a goal.
“I don’t think I could have dreamed it any better.
“My friends and family were there. That was a really special night.”
FAVOURITE ENGLAND GOAL
“It’s between two, for me.
“Against Germany, the one at Wembley in Euro 2020.
“Also, the header against Tunisia at the World Cup in 2018.
“That moment of scoring a last-minute winner at my first World Cup was special.”
BEST ENGLAND GOAL
“The one I scored in Poland away in a World Cup qualifier in 2021. It was from 25 yards.”
(Kane picked up the ball from Kyle Walker, advanced towards goal and put his foot through it.)
“It kind of drifted away and it was a good strike, probably my furthest-out goal for England.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
