Angel Gomes set to be handed first England start against Finland

Lee Carsley is set to give Angel Gomes his first England start in Tuesday’s Nations League clash against Finland at Wembley.

Gomes, 24, made his senior debut as a substitute in the victory over Republic of Ireland at the weekend and Carsley has been training with him alongside Declan Rice in midfield in preparation for his second match as interim manager.

It will mark a rapid rise for the ex-Manchester United midfielder, who won the Under-21 Euros with Carsley and was on Gareth Southgate’s radar but did not get his first call-up to the seniors until last month.

Carsley is ready to change his backline from Dublin, with Rico Lewis poised to start at left-back and John Stones coming into the heart of the defence, while Ezri Konsa has been pushing for a start.

The England manager spoke glowingly of Gomes ahead of the clash against Finland, and earmarked him as a rare talent when he explained his selections ahead of the squad meeting up.

‘He can control a game from the middle of the pitch’

“I spoke about it when we did the squad selection that I think that we have to get our eyes used to having this sort of player,” said Carsley. “He’s not box-to-box, he’s not massively physical but technically he can control a game from the middle of the pitch with his positioning and his technique.

“If we’re going to win a major tournament, we need variety. We need players who are multifunctional and I think he’s in that bracket.”

Stones is expected to make his first start of the season for club or country, having appeared as a second-half substitute in Dublin.

The 30-year-old could be partnered in the centre of defence by Konsa, with Harry Maguire and Marc Guehi earning a rest.

Guehi was England’s best player at the European Championship next to Stones after Maguire was not picked for the travelling squad.

Konsa also played next to Stones in Germany, when Guehi was suspended, and Carsley appears to view the trio, along with Maguire, as his top centre-back options.

Lewis is also pushing to start as a left-back in place of Levi Colwill, as Carsley tries to find solutions to England’s problem position.

With Luke Shaw injured, Colwill, who has been playing centre-back for Chelsea, did well as a makeshift left-back against the Republic of Ireland.

Lewis could now get his chance in the position in which England have struggled for options over recent years.

With Ben Chilwell out of favour at Chelsea and unlikely to play any first-team football before January unless he joins a Turkish team, Carsley needs to find left-back solutions.

Rotation key after busy summer

Kieran Trippier used to fill in on the left under Gareth Southgate, but he has retired from international football.
Carsley has been mindful of the need to be careful with his players so early in the season, especially those who played at the Euros.

“We have to be realistic that the players who didn’t have a lot of time off in the summer came back having maybe not played as many minutes, to expect them just to go into, especially, a game in Dublin at the tempo that we thought it would be and the physicality,” Carsley said.

“It just gave us a chance to do a bit more work with them during the week. There’s maybe four or five that needed that extra work and that extra day’s training which will hopefully help them.”

The fact Declan Rice is suspended for Arsenal’s next Premier League game, against Tottenham Hotspur, means he may start again for England.

Rice scored in Dublin and Carsley believes he is not just a defensive midfielder, saying: “I think Declan can do a lot of roles. I have seen him play deeper for West Ham and for Arsenal and recently in higher positions. You can see by the way he took his goal.

“I think it’s really important that he keeps adding goals to his game and assists. If you are playing in those higher areas it’s a really good attribute to have, getting on the scoresheet every week or contributing to goal assists. It’s a big thing.”

England (probable, 4-2-3-1): Pickford; Alexander-Arnold, Stones, Konsa, Lewis; Rice, Gomes; Saka, Grealish, Gordon; Kane.

Finland (probable, 4-2-3-1): Hradecky; Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Galvez; Peltola, Kamara; Lod, Nissila, Antman; Pohjanpalo