Trent Alexander-Arnold curls stunning free-kick as England beat Finland | Nations League

It was exactly what Lee Carsley needed. After the chaos of Thursday night's Wembley defeat to Greece and all that followed, particularly the uncertainty over his longer-term role in the England squad, this was a return to the calm flow of his first training camp in September.

It was a game against a limited Finnish side, the batsmen of this Nations League group, with England not exactly wowing but doing more than enough to put the draw with Greece a little further back in the rear-view mirror. After wins against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin and Finland at Wembley Stadium, Carsley now have three wins out of four.

The standout moment came when Trent Alexander-Arnold steered a superb free-kick into the goal from a position left of center and waved his right foot like a magic wand to make it 2-0. England had wasted chances in the first half and another great chance after the break, Finland wasted it and there was always the feeling that Carsley's team had to find higher gears when needed. They weren't.

Jack Grealish has enjoyed himself under Carsley. This was his third start under him and he opened the scoring with a cool finish after a lovely shot from Angel Gomes. Declan Rice scored the third from a cross from substitute Ollie Watkins, and Finland's late consolation, Arttu Hoskonen, free to head in from a corner, was little more than a minor annoyance for England.

The Carsley issue has been an important one – in terms of where he will go at the end of his interim term in November. Answer: Back to his old job with the U21s. The other big issue concerned his team's style. The botched all-out attack against Greece had given the Red Tops their dream headliner – Kami-Carsley – and things would become more and more conventional here, and not just because Harry Kane had returned from injury and was playing as number 9.

England had dominated against Finland in Carsley's second game at Wembley, creating so many chances and it was a night where control was paramount. The idea was to achieve more of the same; hence the recall of Gomes alongside Rice in midfield.

It was Gomes who scored the decisive goal, finding a way through Finland's compact 5-4-1 system. At the beginning it was all a bit too mannered given England's pace. They had all the ball; it was patience instead of passion.

Grealish increased the pressure by rushing to the left to find Alexander-Arnold and shoot into the box. What a wonderful endorsement from Gomes would be. He knew where Grealish was and when he received the ball from Alexander-Arnold between the lines, he cleverly turned it to Grealish, who only had Lukas Hradecky to beat.

The Finnish goalkeeper had been a titan at Wembley Stadium. Grealish simply opened his body for the sidefoot finish and thumb-sucking celebration of his recently born baby girl. He appeared determined to take on a more familiar role on the left wing, having previously been played in more central areas by Carsley.

There were inadequacies in England's first half, even as they tried to build from the back; a few loose passes. Gomes made a mistake early in the 0-0, giving the ball away and watching Finland pass it to Benjamin Källman, with John Stones making an important block on his shot. Topi Keskinen missed the goal on the rebound.

Twice before the break the Stones went head-to-head, first with Keskinen and then with Källman, and in both cases the Finnish player was able to save. Dean Henderson, making his full England debut, made a comfortable save. There were also concerns that Finland could get caught in the blindside of Alexander-Arnold, who Carsley played at left-back. When Nikolai Alho did this in the 38th minute, he headed the ball to Fredrik Jensen, who made a break past Alexander-Arnold and then missed the goal.

Rice had a ghost of a chance to make it 2-0 in the 34th minute when he made a decent first touch of the ball in the penalty area after a pass from Jude Bellingham and saw Matti Peltola miss his shot. Just as quickly, when the opportunity to shoot at close range presented itself, Robert Ivanov came back and closed the door.

Marc Guehi slid across from the left half of midfield to form a back three as Alexander-Arnold advanced into midfield. But one word for Guehi's defense: command. He won a number of duels in the first half and always seemed to be going for it.

It was worrying when Stones was one on one with his man. As Finland moved, the ball went to Keskinen in the 57th minute^Th In the minute Stones couldn't prevent the flat cross. Jensen succeeded, lifting the ball from very close range. It was a wonderful farewell.

Creatively, it felt like a slog for England at times. Bellingham was often frustrated trying to sneak his little toes through while Cole Palmer didn't have to hide little Bellingham. He continued to demand the ball, experimenting with his movements, and when he persuaded Finnish substitute Leo Walta to stretch for a tackle, he felt the contact and went down for the free kick. Grealish told Alexander-Arnold he would give him £500 if he scored a goal. For Carsley the goal was priceless.