England vs Finland live updates: Nations League team news, line ...

England lineup: Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Konsa, Stones, Lewis; Rice, Gomes; Saka, Grealish, Gordon; Kane.

Iceland lineup: Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Peltola, Keskinen, Kamara; Schuller, Pukki, Jensen.

Subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.

A perfect blend of youth and experience in the England starting XI for this one.

Understandably, all eyes will be on the man sat on 99 caps...

High on the agenda in Carsley's pre-match chat to ITV was the inclusion of Gomes and Lewis in the starting XI. First, he was asked what the Lille midfielder will add.

"Hopefully he'll bring control to the game. Hopefully he'll dictate the play, he'll find passes in forward areas and hopefully link the game well," said the interim England manager. "It's important that we don't put too much pressure on him, he's a young player making his (full) debut, but I've got a lot of confidence in him."

Then, he was asked about Lewis filling in at left-back.

"We've got to be creative with the way we play," he said. "It's a role that he can play, a role that I've played him in before. We've got three or four options that we can tinker with and change, but he's another player that I've got a lot of confidence and belief in."

It feels a long, old time ago that England were in action on home soil.

You have to go back before Euro 2024, if such a time ever existed, for that. It was a friendly against Iceland and one that did not serve its purpose as a feel-good warm-up before the trip to Germany.

England were beaten 1-0 in a dismal affair in, what turned out to be, Gareth Southgate's last home game as manager.

Another defeat tonight would make it the first time since 2013 — under Roy Hodgson — that they have lost back-to-back games at home.

It was a tough start for Finland in their Nations League opener. A 3-0 defeat against Greece has not set them up terribly well for this evening's game.

"We were disappointed after the Greece game but we have to try to bounce back," Finland manager Markku Kanerva told ITV. "Of course, the task tonight is very tough, to meet Euro finalists England away. But we have nothing to lose so we'll do our best, that's for sure.

"We'll have to work very hard and defend very well as a unit."

After England celebrated four male centurions in two years between 2012 and 2014, they have had to wait another decade for their latest.

Here are the years in which each of the 100-club members have won their 100th cap:

You have to go back 23 years since these two teams last met.

It was at Anfield in a 2002 World Cup qualifier and it was a closer run fixture than many would have been expecting.

Finland took the lead midway through the first half thanks to Aki Riihilahti and it looked like they would be taking that lead into half-time. But a goal on home turf from Michael Owen levelled the match heading into the break and, a few minutes into the second half, David Beckham gave England the lead.

And, from there, they saw out the 2-1 win.

I was here at Wembley for Kobbie Mainoo’s first England start, against Belgium in March. He really impressed me that night.

This time it’s the turn of Angel Gomes for a full debut in midfield and as Liam has teed up, it will be interesting to see how Gomes compares on this stage, albeit against opponents that will be far more passive out of possession than Belgium were.

Speaking of Finland, I’m obviously delighted to see Teemu Pukki start here at Wembley — while Aberdeen 21-year-old Topi Keskinen is also a notable figure in their XI.

Keshiken is one of the most promising talents coming through and has a tattoo that includes two of his favourite things: fishing and Wayne Rooney.

It really is quite the design. If Keshiken does the remarkable and scores tonight, hopefully he gives it a kiss for the cameras.

A little Angel Gomes lowdown — the type of midfielder England never really have, because the system used to be geared towards picking and developing bigger, physical midfielders.

Gomes has been a key part of Lille’s 4-2-3-1 for the past two seasons, primarily in a double pivot alongside Benjamin Andre. He’s excellent under pressure in build-up, has a neat passing range and breaks lines. Nobody had more than his eight Ligue 1 assists last season either.

Gareth Southgate repeatedly referenced “creative solutions” in trying to find the third midfielder ahead of the Euros. Using Rico Lewis and Trent Alexander-Arnold in hybrid full-back/No 6 roles were experiments which came and went (then came again with Alexander-Arnold).

He settled on Kobbie Mainoo there in the knockouts, but Gomes is even purer as a passer and in his final-third contributions. The perfect partner, stylistically, to Declan Rice.

Well here we at Wembley for the second game of the Carsball era, and the first back at home. I thought England were very good in Dublin on Saturday so I'm fascinated to see how it all goes tonight.

Especially with that first start for Angel Gomes in the middle of the pitch. Carsley made a big call promoting him to the seniors for the first time, but he did great for Carsley in the Under-21s and I think it sends a real message about the type of football that the interim manager wants to play.

So, we have Lee Carsley's second teamsheet as England manager and there are certainly some intriguing selections.

The stand-out among them are starts for Rico Lewis and Angel Gomes, who have replaced Levi Colwill and Kobbie Mainoo in the lineup. The other two changes are in defence where Marc Guehi and Harry Maguire have dropped out for Ezri Konsa and John Stones.

The inclusions of Lewis and Gomes signal trust from their former Under-21 manager that they are ready to be thrown in at the deep end with the senior team.

Lewis has made a brilliant start to the season with Manchester City while Gomes has continuously been one of Ligue 1's most impressive midfielders over the last couple of seasons.

This evening is not just one of celebration on Wembley Way.

It is also one tinged with sadness as England play their first home game since the passing of former Sven-Goran Eriksson on August 26.

He was England's first-ever foreign manager and took charge of 67 matches, including two World Cup campaigns — only four men in history have led England on more occasions.

Along with Kane's 100-cap ceremony, there will be a pre-match tribute to Eriksson this evening.

GO FURTHER

Sven-Goran Eriksson obituary: Calm, dignified, positive, but never a pushover

Good evening all. It’s damp and relaxed here as Wembley prepares for the return of its Euro 2024 finalists and the home bow for its interim boss, Lee Carsley.

It’s also the chance for Finland’s all-time goalscorer Teemu Pukki to shine on his return to England, since leaving a fruitful five-year spell at Norwich City — but I appreciate that is a niche angle that even Minnesota United supporters may be nonplussed about.

Still, with it being a special night for Harry Kane and a poignant one in marking the death of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, there should be plenty to enjoy over the coming hours.

Those two results from Saturday leave Group B2 looking like this.

It will be an unbelievable success for Greece, or either of the other two teams, if they are able to finish above England. But it does feel like promotion back to League A is inevitable for the beaten Euro 2024 finalists before the end of November, after all the matches have been played.

Finland will be fighting hard at the other end of the group to avoid relegation.

As the lowest-ranked team in this Nations League group, it was always likely to be tough for Finland to avoid relegation. And their start to the campaign won't have filled supporters with much confidence.

An unforgivable error at the back allowed Greek striker Fotis Ioannidis to pick the pocket of Hradecky and finish into an empty net to open the scoring midway through the first half. In the 37th minute, Benjamin Kallman turned past the Bayer Leverkusen No. 1 to double Greece's lead.

And a brilliant Ioannidis header put the rubber stamp on the victory with a little under quarter of an hour left of the match.

The absences of Foden and Bellingham allowed Carsley to shuffle the attacking pack without the risk of too much criticism on Saturday.

And both Anthony Gordon and Grealish more than justified their inclusions with dazzling displays, particularly in the first half. There was no goal for Gordon — and there should have been — but he was a constant threat to the Irish defenders and provided vital runs in behind Kane, something England desperately lacked at Euro 2024.

The Athletic's Liam Tharme picked out the Newcastle winger as a key piece of the puzzle and wrote about why he could be a better fit for this team than Phil Foden — check it out below.

GO FURTHER

Why England are a better team with Anthony Gordon in than Phil Foden

The England players and staff have arrived at Wembley in plenty of time for this evening's match.

A big night awaits for this man.

The Lee Carsley era got off to a strong start at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Against a backdrop of discussions about singing the national anthem, it was two players who used to play for Republic of Ireland who got the goals.

Declan Rice opened the scoring with an emphatic strike in the 11th minute and Jack Grealish doubled the advantage by finishing off a brilliantly worked move 15 minutes later.

With the hosts hardly posing a threat, England failed to recreate their first-half verve in the second so settled for a 2-0 win.

GO FURTHER

Republic of Ireland 0 England 2: Rice and Grealish defy boos, Gordon’s pace proves key