After opening his interim reign with 2-0 victories against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, things went awry as England lost to Greece for the first time ever.
Carsley’s side looked poor in and out of possession in a deserved 2-1 loss that leaves them three points behind Thursday’s visitors to Wembley in the Group B2 standings.
England can ill afford to let the gap grow against pointless Finland – the lowest ranked team in the pool – before November’s crunch trip to Athens.
‘Carsball’ in question
Lee Carsley has come under fire for his tactics in the defeat by Greece (Adam Davy/PA)
The interim manager pledged to stick with his attack-minded approach, but a more familiar system will be in place in Helsinki.
“Probably won’t try that again on Sunday,” Carsley said. “I have coached enough to know we need to do something different. Had Harry been fit I might have gone down another route.”
It was Harry Kane’s absence against Greece that forced Carsley into his bold attacking selection but the skipper is expected to be back in Helsinki.
Kane trained on Friday and Saturday after overcoming a knock picked up playing for Bayern Munich.
The striker’s anticipated return will change the dynamic of the England side and he will be on the hunt for more goals.
Finnish them off
Finland have lost all three of their Nations League games so far (Bradley Collyer/PA)
England have never lost to them, though they were held to a goalless draw in Helsinki 24 years ago when Howard Wilkinson was caretaker manager before Sven-Goran Eriksson’s appointment.
Defeat for the Finns would put them on the brink of relegation to League C, but they are dreaming big.
Coach Markku Kanerva said: “We know it’s going to be a huge challenge for us to try to get a win or get a point. But surprises can happen, and we believe in that.”
Defensive reshuffle?
Marc Guehi is expected to come back into England’s defence (Mike Egerton/PA)
After being opened up at the back on regular occasions by Greece, changes to the defence look inevitable.
Kyle Walker could come back in at right-back, Marc Guehi is expected to return at centre-back with Levi Colwill possibly switching to left-back.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is expected to keep the goalkeeper’s shirt, but will be under scrutiny after a chaotic display against Greece.
