Trent Alexander-Arnold and the England succession.

Ten thoughts from Finland 1 England 3. And an extra one (because I can’t count and there’s too much to say).

1.Respect Trent. “We do get bogged down by left-back, right-back but so long as he is in effective positions it is great to have him.” So said Lee Carsley about one of the best right-backs in the world, Trent Alexander-Arnold, who he started at left-back. The positions are hardly effortlessly interchangeable. Not everyone is Denis Irwin. And it’s all very well against Finland, who still attacked the left-back left-open space with some success. It would be even riskier against opponents ranked higher than 64^th in the world. So play Levi Colwill, Tino Livramento or Lewis Hall there.

Trent Alexander-Arnold. Photo: Michael Regan - The FA/The FA via Getty Images.

Alexander-Arnold deserves his start at right-back. Kyle Walker has his pace and experience but will be 36 at the World Cup. Alexander-Arnold will be only 27. His influence was seen in that superb free-kick and also being involved three times in the 17-pass move that led to England’s first. Everyone’s focusing on the England managerial succession but we also have to look at player succession, and Alexander-Arnold deserves to be England’s No 1 No 2.

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2.Incisive passing. England craved that, and needed more of it. There was too much sideways, occasionally backwards movement, almost keeping possession for the sake of it, rather than more risk-and-reward passing. England needed more of Alexander-Arnold’s eye-of-a-needle pass into Gomes, Gomes’ outside of the boot caress into Grealish and Palmer’s first-time delivery under pressure to Kane’s feet. England have the technical players; they just need the structure to be right.

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3.The Kane Conundrum. It is difficult to leave out England’s record goalscorer, and only the naïve write off somebody as determined as Harry Kane, but he’s not right at the moment, and nobody’s place in a football team should be a sinecure. It’s why Thursday was such a wasted opportunity; Ollie Watkins should have started against Greece in Kane’s absence and then replaced by Dominic Solanke. Kane, when he starts, has to stay higher up, focusing on being a No 9 not dropping off into the No 10 position. England have enough players in there, and Kane doesn’t have the burning pace to get back upfield quickly enough. Watkins’ pace made a difference when he arrived against Finland. Lee Carsley, the interim, is not going to challenge Kane but one of the England’s finest ever players to be reminded that form matters.

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4.Succession. It’s a toss-up what’s more confusing, some of Carsley’s selections or his observations. There’s no consistency in his comments about whether he wants the job or not. He should have dead-batted everything from the start. Now he just looks indecisive. Let’s hope that the FA can somehow persuade Eddie Howe.

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5.Playing for keeps? The England succession is not simply about the manager. Alexander-Arnold puts pressure on Walker, Watkins on Kane, and Dean Henderson on Jordan Pickford. The goal Henderson conceded was down to poor marking at the near-post, nothing to do with the keeper. Pickford is still No 1, rightly so because of his outstanding body of work over 71 internationals, but it’s good to be reminded of the challengers, and the risk of errors of judgement as when he went walkabout against Greece.

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6.Jack’s the lad. It seems even madder now that Grealish wasn’t taken to the Euros, especially with a 26-man squad. He’s played well under Lee Carsley, whether as a No 10 or coming in from the left as against Finland. There will be inevitable focus on his fine finish in Helsinki, but it was also his movement from wide, taking the pass from Bellingham, then arrowing towards the area as Alexander-Arnold and Gomes combined. His popularity amongst players makes such an effervescent character such a valued asset around the camp.

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7.Top Marc. Guehi needs to start every game. He was beaten once in the air but otherwise his positioning, intercepting and distribution echoed his excellent Euro 2024 form. He immediately showed his strength muscling the ball away from Benjamin Kallman. Guehi, 24, was involved four times in the 17-pass move for Grealish goal. Guehi has now shrugged off his early-season Palace sluggishness, perhaps induced by speculation about his future. Playing as well as this, that speculation will resume.

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8.Jensen interceptor. Angel Gomes put in a really important challenge to dispossess Fredrik Jensen when Alexander-Arnold was caught upfield. He’s a small, busy pressing machine and deliverer of simple but effective first-time passes. He allowed Declan Rice to raid upfield (as did Rico Lewis) but also got forward himself, and played that sublime pass to Grealish. Difficult to leave out now.

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9.Trust Jude. Bellingham increasingly polarises opinion. He’s depicted either as focused more on himself, and throwing arms up if he thinks he’s been fouled, as happened after 47 minutes and Finns broke. Or he’s England one truly world-class player, putting in 180s to elude opponents, making forward runs, connecting with Alexander-Arnold, just failing to get the full-back’s dinked pass. He has an edge to him, and so he should. All the very best players do. Bellingham is world class and admired at a club as demanding as Real Madrid. Nit-picking about his England performances risks alienating a player with phenomenal physical and technical qualities. There are elements to his game that need improving, and under Carlo Ancelotti he will work on them. He’s 21, learning and on course to be an England great. And that’s not acclaim to be handed out freely.

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10.Central reservation. If England are going to start Cole Palmer, their Player of the Year, he has to be used in his best position, centrally, where he has been performing for Chelsea. Palmer can play off the right, but he’s a No 10, not a deep-lying one as against Greece, but a real one, pulling the strings behind a No 9. The issue England have is how you juggle both Bellingham and Palmer, and if that means in the interests of balance one is omitted (along with Phil Foden), so be it. It means strength off the bench. And as for Palmer’s mundane interviews, that’s irrelevant. He entertains on the pitch. His football more than does his talking.

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11.Case for pace. England need to move the ball quicker. They allowed the Finns to get back into position. Also the pace of Watkins, Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon when fit and in form, is a huge weapon, even if simply unleashed off the bench.

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England play Greece and the Republic of Ireland next month, and a balanced side could be Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Guehi, Colwill; Gomes, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Grealish; Watkins. With the impact of the likes of Palmer, Gordon, Kane, Foden, Madueke to come on.