Rating the English players against Finland

Cole Palmer was a must, but again he wasn't great, no thanks to the handicap behind him. Angel Gomes' assist was brilliant. There wasn't much else.

Dean Henderson
We are still very worried about the England goalkeepers and that has absolutely nothing to do with Henderson's performance here. He didn't do anything wrong.

KYLE WALKER
He was recalled to the squad after missing out on the first round of Nations League games and Lee Carsley may have been right the first time. He's fine, but we know what he's about and he's not about passing the ball into the number 10 in tight spaces, which is now England.

Palmer suffered from Walker's technical deficiencies on that side and with no short passing ability or crosses for Harry Kane in his repertoire, Walker is more of a hindrance than a help on the front foot, which has been the case for a long time but is worth it thanks to the excellent defensive performance That also seems to be fading now, as much of the Finnish threat comes from his side.

JOHN STONES
England were weak at the back again And a centre-back with 81 caps and 13 major trophies for his club must take his share of the blame. He has only started in one of Manchester City's Premier League games this season and there was evidence once again that, despite having more protection in front of him, he is now an easy part of England's defense as he also apparently lost a yard in his legs, perhaps due to the lack of playing time.

It looked like he was – probably intentionally – marking the space for Finland's goal, but it doesn't look too good when he runs into space two meters behind the goalscorer who ran past him to win the header .

MARC GUEHI
A few moments where he showed why he received so much credit over the summer by outwitting attacking players, but there were also a few examples of his poor decision making on the few occasions he was forced to do so. It was his attempt to win the ball on the halfway line that led to the Finns' blatant miss in the second half.

TRENT ALEXANDER ARNOLD
Clearly a very square peg in a round hole, as his deficiencies in defense on the right were even more evident on the left. He fell asleep to lose markers for Finland's two biggest chances, and he dunked a few times as he moved to his more natural position, serving as a reminder that he will always have defensive errors no matter where he plays .

That's perfectly fine when he hits a free kick into the top corner.

DECLAN RICE
He wasn't anywhere near his best with the ball, but that wasn't the case with any of them, and to his great credit, he was literally the only starter who ran behind the defense and kept tearing himself in the gut, to get into the penalty area, earning the reward. His final action of the game came in the 84th minute when he tapped the front post to secure the win.

ANGEL GOMES
Deployed after the loss to Greece with the aim of not giving the ball away as much in midfield, Gomes tried to pass through an impossible gap early on, leading to the first chance of the game, but he quickly got back into the swing of things after that his excellent first touch and tight turning circle served him well in England's opener; The pass with the outside of his right foot that left the Finnish defenders standing as Grealish flew past them was delightful.

The epitome of a neat and tidy footballer who is often cursed with faint praise, but not in the case of Gomes.

READ MORE: England work hard to showcase their superior quality against Finland

COLE PALMER
We will never subscribe to the view that any player has to be in the starting XI, as that is a tricky path leading to a back four and six number 10s, but Palmer was the one in defense in these games The most common starter of any English player was his outstanding form for Chelsea. The fact that he was voted English Footballer of the Year by fans, despite never having competed, tells us everything about the mood of public opinion.

A few nice touches and his performance from both corners and open play caused Finland some problems, but we're not sure there were any wow moments from Palmer, as we're used to, in every game for his club half a dozen to see. Opportunity spurned.

JUDE BELLINGHAM
Probably a good idea England's leading contender for the Ballon d'Or having the ball as much as possible in the areas where he can do damage rather than just having him in the team as a footballer for Save The Day moments and it felt like he was very much in the first half involved and kept things simple in the first half but the main player was also an excellent throw for Rice over the top, which was about the only time an English player tried to turn the Finnish defense around.

After the break, however, he really ran out of steam and England's moves fell at his feet on at least three occasions.

Jack Grealish
His goal was never in doubt because he passed the ball and Jack Grealish didn't make any bad passes. However, if anything, that will be the stick with which to beat him. His critics will claim that he doesn't make bad passes because he only makes passes over ten meters; almost always sideways and backwards.

He has been moved from the No.10 position in which he thrived during the first international break to the left-wing position, but Grealish has little hope of returning to that role, where England have superior options and need to convince everyone that his ability to retain possession and take the pressure off his teammates on the wing is worth not directly threatening the opponent, or try to influence the game more when you have the opportunity to run the full-back.

HARRY KANE
A few moments of really good hold-up play, the likes of which we haven't seen at all at Euro 2024, but his influence will always be limited in this team with so many number 10s taking up the space he loves falling into. Suffered from not having a left foot on the left side and only Walker's right foot on the right side, which doesn't really count. It was always like that.

NONI MADUEKE (for Palmer, 69)
With his first move he immediately got England into the Finnish penalty area for the first time in a long time and did it again two minutes later, bursting past the left-back at a pace we hadn't seen in this game he would have hit Olle Watkins with a cross. A direct breath of fresh air.

OLLIE WATKINS (for Kane, 69)
He probably didn't need to be beaten at the front post to score Finland's goal, but he set up Rice brilliantly, dribbling down the left before gaining a yard with a step over the ball and firing the ball over the goal. Offers a completely different – and in this case far stronger – threat to Kane with his powerful runs behind the defense.

PHIL FODEN (for Bellingham, 80)
I probably can't quite believe he's no longer in the England team, and while ten minutes might not be long enough to change his mind, he might think he can do more against what is at this point a very tired Finnish defense could have done.

RICO LEWIS (for Gomes, 80)
He's a real scurry walker and he scurries.

CONOR GALLAGHER (for Rice, 85)
Nice to see him again after a disappointing Euro 2024 on a personal level. A few good touches and passes; got into a few tackles.