England 2-0 Finland
by Layth Yousif
at Wembley Stadium
A HARRY KANE second half double on his 100th England appearance was enough to seal victory over Finland at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Kane’s brace ensured England made it two from two for interim boss Lee Carsley, whose good start continued in front of 70,221 at the national stadium.
It has been a rare old week for the unassuming Carsley, thrust into the spotlight with his redoubtable refusal to sing the national anthem, which rabble-rousing rightwingers insisted the former Irish international defender should do, or be sacked.
Such arrant nonsense sparked widespread debate on the subject, which prompted the thought that singing the national anthem should be a personal choice. Because being monitored for singing a song that underlines the divine right of kings to lord it over us and the rest of the globe is the type of dictatorial totalitarianism that Britain has always prided itself in opposing.
After the anthems were sung — or not sung as the case may be — Kane was awarded a golden cap to mark his century of appearances for England.
The Bayern Munich striker then proceeded to play in a pair of equally gilded footwear that saw him grab a second half double against the increasingly obdurate Finns.
They say the Finnish language is said to be extremely difficult to decipher, even if Markku Kanerva’s Finland team had been certainly able to read Carsley’s England in the opening 45 of their Wembley test, as the sides went into the break goalless — boosted by the fine form of Finland keeper Lukas Hradecky.
Speaking after the match, the redoubtable Carsley said: “I’ve coached a lot of games where we had to work to break down a team.
“It was important we kept making them defend and keep believing we’re going to score.”
Hradecky continued to thwart England after the break, as the Bayer Leverkusen captain and goalkeeper pulled off several fine blocks and saves to keep the home side out.
However, the pressure eventually told, when Trent Alexander-Arnold intercepted the ball, before playing an intelligent pass to Kane who, ducked inside Robert Ivanov with quick feet, prior to teeing himself up to emphatically fire home past the worthy Hradecky — via the underside of the bar — to make it 1-0 in the 57th minute.
The satisfying strike was Kane’s 67th international goal, but the Munich captain wanted more.
As England dominated, prompted by Angel Gomes’s worthy work on the ball that featured 124 passes during the match, Carsley made a number of changes, including the overworked Bukayo Saka, who was replaced by Noni Madueke in the 66th minute.
The Chelsea star made an impact shortly afterwards when pacifying a looping ball from Jack Grealish.
The 22-year-old Stamford Bridge forward then laid the ball to Alexander-Arnold, before the Liverpool star exchanged passes with the Chelsea attacker, who promptly cut back for Kane to unleash a fine drive to double the home side’s lead with 14 minutes remaining, making it 68 goals for his country — and counting.
Speaking afterwards Kane said: “I try to never set limits on what I can achieve.”
Kane is England’s all-time leading goalscorer with 68, which is 15 more than Wayne Rooney’s previous total of 53, and is now only 25 appearances short of Peter Shilton’s England record.
“I know playing in this team I am going to get chances and if I get chances I feel like I can score many goals,” the striker added.
“I am going to keep going as long as I can and who knows what we can reach.
“Some of the top players in the world have scored more than I have so there are targets there to try to achieve.”
